Today has NOT been my best day. My incision feels like its swelling (Meagan confirms it looks swollen as well). I was very dizzy all day, but still managed to get up and with some help fix lunch of BBQ spare ribs and baked potatoes. I fell asleep sitting up in bed. I was thinking I shouldn’t lie down flat in case my head needed to drain. But I felt better after the nap. I’m going to try to get some sleep tonight like a normal person because we have things to do tomorrow. Like my one week check up.
I hope everything is normal. We should make the appointment with the audiologist tomorrow as well.
Before I start getting reamed in comments for not having an audiologist already…
I’ve NEVER had a regular audiologist. Not even as a child. When I was in public schools in Tulsa, they sent a speech therapist once in awhile to visit with me. I don’t remember learning much from them. By the time I got to junior high, the speech therapist was inconvenient during class because I’d miss a lesson or a test. When I’d try to talk to the therapist about my problems understanding what the teachers were saying, they’d blow me off. I never had a good experience with hearing professionals growing up, so I avoided them as an adult. I couldn’t pay for them most of the time anyway.
The only hearing professional I had on a regular basis growing up was my hearing aid dispenser. My parents picked Armstrong Hearing Center when I was 5 years old and I used them while I lived in Tulsa, except the one time I tried Beltone. If you’re looking for a hearing aid dispenser in the Tulsa metro, I highly recommend them. I’m racking my brains trying to remember all their names, but Mr. Armstrong the original owner was about the same age as my grandparents when I first met him. By the time I graduated from high school, his son, Larry Armstrong, had taken over. Larry is close to my dad’s age and the last time I met with him, his son was preparing to take over the business.
A lot of people don’t know my entire story and tend to judge because I don’t know how to cope with my hearing loss. Guess what? I’ve had to spend my entire life figuring it out for myself and I know I didn’t do a very good job. I still get extremely frustrated. I don’t sign as a first language. My family wouldn’t allow me to learn as a child and as an adult, I feel like I can’t allow myself to learn ASL fully because I’m afraid my grasp of English will deteriorate. I’ve spent too many years and too much money learning to speak and write proper English. Even now I struggle to pronounce things correctly. It doesn’t help that my husband mispronounces things on purpose. Like guitar is ‘gee-tar’ and motorcycle is ‘motor-sickle’. And he says ‘warsh’ and ‘winder’ instead of wash and window. However, he says the latter isn’t on purpose. His parents were country folks and that’s how they talked. (Ok, I believe you, but please don’t be upset with me when I can’t understand what you’re saying.)
For those of you that actually see me on a regular basis, you now have a challenge. If I mispronounce ANYTHING, you need to let me know as soon as possible (and in a nice way please) the correct pronunciation. Sometimes it’s easier for me to see the word phonetically, because I actually do understand the sounds. I also need to know if I'm slurring, mumbling, talking too fast or talking too soft/loud. Hopefully the implant will help me discern sounds better than I do now, but I need your help, too.
Thank you, Mom, for teaching me to read so young. You saved my ass on many occasions by doing that for me. I miss you and I wish you were here to help me through this new and painful experience.
P.S. Charlie took off the left earpiece on my old glasses so it wouldn't rub against the incision. I'm so lopsided!
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