It has been 9 days since my surgery....

I've been able to catch up on some blogs and it looks like people are doing great. Wendi and Shari have come through with flying colors. I'm happy to say that I feel better myself.

I have to admit that reading that people were awake and coherent after the surgery just blew me away. I couldn't wake up. It was so weird. In fact, Dr. Merwin got special permission to let my husband back to the OR recovery to put in my hearing aid and help me understand the nurses. I kept demanding water but they couldn't give it to me. I couldn't even keep my eyes open long enough to read lips let alone anything else. I think I was finally able to open my eyes and stay awake around 9pm that night. How I got home is a blur! In fact all I have are bits and pieces of waking up. I don't really have solid memories. I think I am extremely sensitive to anesthesia? I have no idea. I've had surgery before but I never went home the same day so it's hard to compare them. All I know is that I was extremely out of it and I stayed that way for a while.

After the first few days I was feeling much better and in high spirits and then I started having problems with my throat. It hurt to eat and to swallow. It was weird. I know it had to do with the tube down my throat but I didn't learn that until later. Then I developed a bad, bad case of acid reflux which lasted a couple of days and that freaked me out as well. Thankfully, my sister Liz knows tons about acid reflux b/c she's dealt with it for a long time. She was able to give me some tips. Thank you Liz! I can say that is behind me now. I think having other problems started to freak me out and caused a lot of anxiety. I think I just expected my head to hurt and not much else.

I still have the staples and stitches which is a pain in the butt. I really feel like I could be back at work at this point if those were gone. They are coming out on Monday and I'm extremely thankful for that. I don't feel completely normal yet. I still have some throbbing on my head at times and some weird pressure type feelings but that's it. No pain or anything. I usually take Tylenol when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed. I wish I could blow dry my hair and all of that but with the staples and stitches I'm still a little nervous to do that. I don't really like touching my head or my ear so I avoid that area all together. I have to clean my ear with soap and water and thankfully my husband does that for me.

My only other problem...is my taste buds. They are still a little whacked out. Oddly enough the only thing that I can't eat...well drink is Diet Pepsi and Diet Dr. Pepper. I lived off these two drinks prior to surgery. I try to drink a can of it and it just tastes BAD, BAD, BAD. It's really funny b/c I am very well known for my Diet Pepsi obsession. Needless to say I've been drinking plain old water since the surgery. I hate water. I loathe water but that's the only thing I can stand at this point. It's healthier so that's one way to look at it. -Sigh- I can only assume that the caffine addiction has been overcome? I don't know. Last time I went a day without a Diet Pepsi I thought I was going to die a slow horrible death. I don't really feel like that now.

I think I mentioned this before but I asked Dr. Merwin to remove a mole for me. He did. He took the stitches out for that on Monday and I'm a little nervous about it. There is a huge gash were the mole was. It's not pretty. I leave a band aid over it with some nerosporin. Hopefully, that will heal better before I go back to work. The dermatologist would have had to do the same thing so I don't regret having Dr. Merwin do it. I was already asleep might as well kill two birds with one stone.

So, yesterday I decided I was craving some chic-fa-la and there isn't one near the house....well there is one in the food court at the mall near our home so we went there. My husband got something different. We got our food to go. I get a little apprehensive being in public that I'm going to scare people with the staples and stitches. Haha. Since I can't blow dry my hair I don't wear it down b/c it looks BAD! Anyway...back to the subject... As I was waiting in line there was a guy in front of me with a casted arm. I happened to look up and guess what? He was wearing a cochlear implant. I really wanted to say something to him. However, if I showed him my head and he was about to eat maybe he would be grossed out. So, I decided not to. My husband was blown away. He was like "what are the chances of that"? I agreed!

Well, I will go read my book now. I miss my hubby since he is back at work. He did a great job taking care of me! Too great. I miss him a ton while he's gone. I really want to thank everyone for their encouragement. It means soooo much to me. I am looking forward to Monday and will hopefully find out my activation date as well.

Post Op Dr's appt.

Hey Everyone,

I saw Dr. Merwin this morning. I was brought into the room and the assistant put a napkin over my shoulder and grabbed some supplies and I was thinking "They are going to pull the stitches/staples out so soon"? I was so excited though.The paper said 10-14 days and it's only be 6 days but they acted like they were anyway. Dr. Merwin comes in and looks at it and says everything looks GREAT! Then he says come back next Monday and will take everything out. BUMMER. So, he did take the stitches out under my chin for the mole I asked him to remove. Oh, well. My happiness didn't last too long. He asked me if I was still taking my pain meds and I said no. I didn't like how they made me feel and just wanted to stick with Tylenol. I was only there for a short time. My throat isn't hurting as much just when I eat but I've had horrible acid reflux and got some meds for that at the store after my appt.

I planned on going to work next Monday but my stitches/staples are coming out then so I will go to work on Wednesday if I feel up to it. Hopefully I will. I am having some struggles with anxiety but I'm just trying to take it one day at a time.

Thank you all for your encouragement. It means a lot.

5 Days Post Op....not happy

Hey Everyone,

On Thursday and Friday I was in high spirits. Feeling really good. However, Saturday I started getting a sore throat and my tongue was hurting a bit. The way I figure it is the numbness as worn out. I figure my throat is irritated from the tube they put down there for the surgery. Plus I'm feeling a little more dizzy than normal but that might be the meds. I stopped taking pain pills on Thursday but I took one today b/c I needed to sleep because I didn't sleep well last night. That wasn't a great idea b/c now I feel worse and I'm sure it's the half a pain pill I took that is making me feel this way. I have an appt. in the morning to see Dr. Merwin so hopefully he will be able to look at my throat. This really sucks b/c I was feeling so much better and now I feel as if I took a turn for the worse.

I am shocked I can even post. I guess I want feed back. Anyone else go through this? Let me know.

Thanks!

PICTURES: Graphic!!!! Look at your own risk!

I do have chubby cheeks but not that chubby! This is a good look at bruise behind my ear and you can see it on my neck as well if you look closely enough.

This is a picture after I took a shower. I was nervous to take a shower b/c I was scared to brush my hair. Let's just say I did it all very carefully. There are staples on the top of my head and then there are stitches behind my ear.

This is the wonderful ear bra they put on. It was on so tight that I have a knot on my forhead. No kidding. Plus the knot is still there. I was so glad to take that thing off. I wanted to take it off earlier but my husband wouldn't let me. He did however let me take it off 30 minutes before I was supposed to. What a rebel. :-) You may notice the bandage on my face and the stitches in another picture. Since I was already going under the knife I asked Dr. Merwin to remove a mole and he did. I asked for liposuction too but he said no. A girl can dream. :-) Haha.

Thankful

Hey Everyone,

I hope all is going well. It has been 3 days since my surgery. I'm in good spirits. I just wish I was feeling A LOT better by now. That's okay though. I'm not freaking out or anything. I have a lot to be thankful for.

I've already mentioned how wonderful my husband is! Haha. That has not changed at all. He's taken such great care of me and I couldn't be more thankful for him.

I must say that I feel like I have met two of the best people in the world. I am so thankful for this experience alone b/c it lead me to know Laurie and Susan. They are amazing people and have truly ministered to me from the beginning when I thought about getting the implant. So, Ladies if you read this please know there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. Our friendship came due to the implant but that's not all it's about and I love that. I thank you both from the bottom of my heart for all you done for me. I wish I could say more than "thanks".

Susan and Laurie went to the hospital and sat with Jason and his Dad. I know they appreciated the company. I didn't want my husband to just sit there all by himself. I never got to see anyone after the surgery though. I was pretty out of it and had to stay in recovery longer than necessary. I don't remember waking up but my husband was brought back there to put my hearing aid in b/c the nurses were trying to talk to me and I couldn't keep my eyes open to read their lips. All I wanted was water. They wouldn't give it to me b/c they thought I was going to throw up. They put the tube down my throat so my mouth was just so dry. It is still extremely dry and I've been drinking tons of water and nothing seems to help.

I still have the terrible tinnitus and the pressure behind my head which is highly annoying....but life goes on. :-)

I am feeling better each day but the recovery seems to be slow. I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

I also want to thank my fellow bloggers for their support and encouragement. I appreciate it more than words can say. Plus my family. I know my Mom was worried about the surgery at least that part is over with! I've been through several surgeries but this one takes the cake. Haha. My sister Liz has been wonderful as well. They will be coming down for my activation and I'm excited. I know by then I should be feeling tons better and it will be nice to see them.

As I said I have a lot to be thankful for. :-)

I am Officially bionic!

Hey everyone! I don't really have enough energy to write a alot. I just wanted everyone to know the surgery went fine. I was a bit out of it when I woke up. It was a rough day yesterday. I was in a lot of pain and then around 9:30ish I decided to eat some soup. My husband went to go make it and then I stood up and told him I'm going to be sick and sure enough as soon as I walked in the bathroom I threw up for a few minutes. It's the first time in my life that I threw up without crying. So I was proud of myself and how I handled it. I didn't eat the soup after that. Today wasn't fun either but I was able to take off the awful band that goes around my hear/head. Although this evening I feel a little better. I even took a shower.

The pain has been intense but I'm sure it will fade. I've been taking pain pills but I don't like how I feel when I wake up. However, I am taking one before I go to bed. It helps me get through the night. I've been having bouts of tinnitus's but I am sure that will fade too. The sounds I hear are weird. Very weird. I'm not too worried about it though.

I have a huge bruise on my neck. I feels like I have a crick in my neck but I think it's the bruise. I also have 2 stitches next to my chin. I asked the doctor since I will be asleep for the surgery could he go ahead and remove a mole near my chin and he did it! Haha. I had it removed in Jan and it came back and the dermatologist said it might so Dr. Merwin cut it out for me. He really didn't have to do that but he was cool about it.

My husband has been taking great care of me. I'm so thankful for him. If he's doing something in another room I have a bell that he gave me to ring if I need him for anything! Isn't that funny? haha. I love that man.

I go back on Monday for a follow up visit. I wonder if they will take the stables and stitches out then or wait a few more days.

I will write more later and I will post some pictures. I just want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. oh and if this has a lot of typos in it...forgive me. I'm not even checking it! I'm just going to post and then lay down.

Officially Bionic...
~Karen

7 Days!!!!

Well, I'm having surgery a week from today. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am and surgery is scheduled for 7am. I really wonder if it'll happen on time. I sure don't expect it to but we'll see! Honestly, I think it should be aganist the law to tell someone they have to be at the hospital at 5:30am. I mean seriously people. That's just crazy. I'm sure I won't sleep much anyway. I'm just saying...that's really, really early. It's what I call.... the butt-crack of dawn....and I really hate the butt-crack of dawn! Of course when I was in college anything before noon was the butt crack of dawn.

I really can't believe the surgery is a week from today. Tomorrow I am meeting up with my friends Susan and Laurie for dinner...I love my bionic buddies! :-) I'm really excited about being able to see them again. They can help calm my nerves. Just talking to them inspires me....they both have had great success with the implant....or implants since Laurie has bilateral implants!

Well, I don't really have much to share. I'm just taking it a day at a time. This weekend I will probably work on getting some chores done so we don't have to worry about it while I'm recuperating. I plan on getting all the laundry done and picking up around the house. I'm sure the hubby will mow the yard. I was going to work on Monday but decided to take it off. I figure it would be best since I might be a little anxious about heaving my head cut open and all. I'm not being dramatic or anything am I? Haha. Jason is going to work on Monday and then take the rest of the week off to take care of his bionic wife! :-) Then next week I'm going to have my name changed to Jamie Sommer....haha just kidding!!!!

Well, that's all I have for now! I'm hoping to remember to get on the HLAA chat this coming Monday. The past two Monday's I have forgotten about it! It makes me so mad. Last night I remembered early on and then I started reading my book and the time flew by. I remembered this morning that I forgot! How can I keep forgetting? So, someone out there needs to remind me!

I will post again before the surgery! :-)

I'm baaaaaack!!!

Yes! I’m back from my mini-vacation.

My husband and I had a blast. We are tired though. VERY tired. I think it means we are OLD! Very OLD. Well, I am anyway. I’m older than him. –sigh-.

We got there late Thursday night. I actually stayed at my best friend’s house. Her name is Katie and she’s wonderful. We’ve been friends since 6th grade! Can you believe that? That’s a long time. Seriously! We could write a book about our lives they are just full of stories…some funny, some sad and some scary but it would make an interesting book to say the least. She has a little girl named Kadyn (she’s 3 years old and her name is pronounced kay-den) and my husband is so smitten by her…probably b/c she’s the same with him. It’s cute to watch them together. We went out to eat and I wanted to sit next to her but she requested Jason…which is adorable. I have to admit though kids flock to him…I’m not jealous or anything. Okay maybe a little. Haha.

Friday night we spent the day at my Mom’s house. We shot of fireworks…illegally since they are illegal in GA but it was fun. I love being a rebel!!!! We all had so many fireworks it was crazy. Nobody caught on fire, no fatalities although there was a close one but disaster was adverted thanks to a firework going off and hitting the TREE. If it had not hit the tree then it would have hit the back porch where all the other fireworks happen to be…Oh and everyone who was watching happened to be sitting there too. I was just more worried about the fireworks! ::Grin::

Saturday we took it easy and hung out with Katie and Kadyn. We went to a Go-Cart track and rode those where someone (named Katie) caused me to hit the side rail and crash. I was turned in the opposite direction so one of the guys who worked there had to run over and face the go-cart in the correct direction. There is no reverse. Then we made Tacos for dinner! YUM. I invited my niece and her boyfriend to come over (and it wasn’t even my house) and they brought a friend. We played games and had a lot of fun.

Sunday we went to Six Flags! Yes, we sure did. It was GREAT and there were not a lot of people there at all it was crazy. The first hour or so we were able to ride four rides. It was incredible. Then it rained for about 2 hours. We left the park got some food then went back and the sun was out the rest of the day. It was great. My husband had never been on a roller coaster before so that made the day interesting. I must say that he does NOT care for roller coasters. He rode two of them (serious roller coasters) and it made him dizzy. I know the second one was rough and I shouldn’t have put him on it but I did…and that was the end of that. OOPS! I didn’t even care for that one. I have to admit I’m older…so my love for roller coasters has diminished. I still rode them all but I realize that I’m not going to live forever and kept thinking I was going to fall to my death. Thankfully I didn’t. I’m still alive! Whew! I will try to post some pictures of the rides tomorrow. Right now I’m beat and just want to get this up before I go to bed. I plan on going to bed early….I’m laughing b/c that never happens! Why God? WHY?

I must admit that I’ve been looking forward to my mini vacation for weeks. It was a “marker” for me. I knew that once I came back from my vacation that the surgery would be right around the corner and it is! The reality that it’s close is starting to set in. It is two weeks away. TWO weeks people! HELLO?! Part of me is getting a little nervous when I think about it…but I keep remembering they are going to give me drugs after the surgery and I relax a little.

I’m hoping to meet with Susan and Laurie ONE more time before my surgery. I think talking with them and hanging out with them reminds me why I’m doing this…they do SO WELL with the implant. So, I think that will help as well.

I’m going to go try the whole get to bed early thing…GOODNIGHT!

Can you believe it?

Today is July 1st! Can you believe it? I can say..."I'm having surgery at the end of the month" or "I'm having my CI surgery on the 22nd (I don't even have to say the month anymore). Wow...time really is moving...though some days it doesn't feel like it.

I know the 4 weeks of waiting for activation will be painfully slow...well, it will feel that way. However, at least the first few days will go by fast since I plan on sleeping a lot and taking it easy. Bring on the pain meds! Haha. I just hope I’m not miserable. No one can really tell me how that part is going to go b/c everyone has different experiences. Thankfully I’ve read a variety of those experiences so hopefully nothing unexpected will happen. I’ve read the good, the bad and the really bad. I’m hoping for the good…naturally.

I’m leaving on Thursday to go to GA for a mini-vacation. I’ll be back in TN on the 7th. I probably won’t be blogging much. I wanted to post now in case the rest of the week became too hectic. I’m going to hang out all with family and friends….and on Sunday I’m going to Six Flags! I’m so excited about that. I haven’t been to Six Flags in years. The way I see it…this is my last HURRAH before surgery. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. So, when I return I know that everything else is right around the corner. Next time I go to Six Flags I won’t even wear my seat belt when I ride a roller coaster. Nope…I’m going to depend on my magnet to keep me stuck to the seat. KIDDING! I promise I will always wear my seat belt on a roller coaster….or a car… or a plane…or a helicopter (you get the picture). I bet there is a warning label on CI’s… “Magnet will not keep you from falling off a roller coaster please buckle seat belt”…if not then there should be.

If anyone has any tips or advice for me on what to do prior to surgery speak now (well, within the next three weeks) or forever hold your peace. I did read some useful stuff on other sites such as CI Hear…clean the house, get errands done; etc. Anything else?

I want to thank everyone for their support and all the people I’ve gotten to know. I think blogging was one of the best things I could have done. I love talking to other people with CI’s. It’s encouraging. I wish I could explain it more. I think it keeps me calm (b/c I’m not freaking out) knowing that so many people are doing well and have had such great success. Now, just b/c I’m not freaking out at the moment doesn’t mean I won’t be at some point. I’m not afraid to admit that the day before surgery I might be feeling a little nervous. The morning of surgery I may need something to calm my nerves…thankfully the hospital can hook me up with something….if not I’ll find someone who can!

Well, I’m signing out for tonight. I’ll be sure to fill everyone in on the trip when I return. Oh and those of you who don’t know…CI Hear has a chat every Monday night at 9pm and it’s GREAT! I went on last night and I loved it. I have every intention of becoming a regular. So, stop by if you haven’t already.