Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Hello Everyone...

I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all. As always...it's been a while since I posted.

I just had a birthday earlier this week and I'm officially 30 years old. YIKES! Don't tell anyone. We'll just keep it our little cyber-secret. My niece and her boyfriend Justin came down last weekend and we had a blast. We went to the mountains here in TN which had snow and it was so cold due to the higher elevation ( over 5000 ft above see level). It was beautiful though and we had so much fun. I will try to post a picture at the bottom of the post. We also went to Cades Cove and saw so many deer and even got to see Bears! Yes! We saw a Mamma bear and two baby cubs. They were crossing the road...or trying to...so many people were pulled over as we were all amazed to see these black bears. It was so amazing to see them.

I did ask my niece if she noticed any difference with the implant. She said YES she could tell a difference and for some reason I was surprised. My husband notices a difference but I would think he would since he went through the whole process with me. The good, the bad and the ugly. So, it was bound to see me go from hearing a chain saw noise only to finally understanding speech. I guess I don't really notice that much of a difference. Sounds crazy doesn't it? Okay, that REALLY sounds nutty b/c I know there is a difference. Let me try to explain it another way. I KNOW there is a difference but I think I expect myself to notice it and not so much other people since I'm the one hearing things I haven't heard in the past. I think that makes MUCH better sense! Thanks for letting me think that one out a little bit. Haha.

I do know that before I could go without the implant even though I didn't. I have diligently worn the implant from the very beginning. I pushed myself hard and wore it at work....I wore it all day from the beginning and still do. I never felt that I "needed" to wear it. However, now I do. If I just tried to wear the hearing aid I would be lost. I do wear the hearing aid sometimes along the implant as it gives me more clarity with words. I can go without the hearing aid all day. I just use when I feel like it. If I'm in a meeting at work I will use it for that as it helps me understand more. I am not as dependent upon it as I am the implant that is for sure! Despite how much I love the implant I can not ignore how much the hearing aid helps me. In fact, I'm not even "eligible" for an implant in the left ear because I do so well with the hearing aid. Although, I do think that will change eventually. I'm willing to wait for the "eventually". Haha. I'm happy with what I have for now!

Well, I ended up writing a book and I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all! We all have a lot to be thankful for and technology is one of them! :-) I'm thankful for being Bionic! Not just the implant but the insulin pump I use as well. They are both life changing devices and I'm thankful. I must say it would have been very hard to get the implant if I didn't have my fellow bloggers who have taken the time to share their experiences and their lives. I hope one day that someone who is "consdering" getting an implant will read my blog and feel as if I helped them.

Well, I better get ready. For some strange reason my in-laws have Thanksgiving at 11:30am. Pretty crazy eh? I call it Thanksgiving Breakfast!

The picture below is me, my husband, my niece Heather and her boyfriend Justin. We are at New Found Gap here in TN. It's actually on the TN/NC boarder. As I mentioned earlier it's high up in the mountains and it was truly freezing. Don't we LOOK cold? It was so much fun though. :-) My husband is the one to the left of the picture and I assure you he's cold. I can tell by the look on his face! Haha.