Some back-story info leading up to the CI surgery

I was looking through my old emails and came across a mass email I wrote to friends and family about the decision to get the implant. I felt I need to add a bit of a back-story my experience, so I wanted to include this in my blogspot. I need to note here though that my surgery was actually postponed due to an unexpected illness-so surgery was pushed to December 17th.

November 8, 2009:
 
So here is the update from my visit to California Ear Institute on November 4th and 5th. I had an MRI on Wednesday the 4th, which showed no abnormalities of the inner ear, which makes surgery for them easier to fit the cochlear implant into my cochlea. Thursday morning, I had a hearing test with both my aids on to evaluate how much I can hear with them on and to see if the cochlear will make any significant improvement.

After my hearing evaluation, I got the green light to have an implant in my right ear. I am going to Palo Alto on the 9th with mom for a pre-op appointment and then on the 10th I have surgery as an outpatient. It should take up to 3 hours for the surgery. I think mom and I will probably stay the night again in Palo Alto/Stanford area and then head home the next day. I think I am having surgery at a place called Waverly Medical Center close to Stanford Medical Center. 

The healing period from surgery is 1 week. I go back down on the 16th of December to get the implant "turned on". The whole recovery period from the surgery should last about 3 weeks or so.  I am sure I will have more follow up appointments in January and the months after that to adjust and program the implant according to my hearing level. 

If you want to find out more information about the implant itself-then go to www.cochlear.com.  That is the company that supplies the device.  I'm only getting one implant for now and the doctors and I will see how I do with one.  I might not ever need a second implant....depends on a lot of factors like how well I can hear with just one. Having two implants put in at once will be way too much stimulation for me to handle and a longer rehabilitation period since my brain will have to work overtime to process what I am hearing.

The website for the doctor who is performing my surgery is: http://calear.com/. Dr. Roberson will be doing the surgery: http://calear.com/md-joseph-roberson-california-ear-institute-bay-area.php. He and his staff have been wonderful so far. I don't feel as if they have been pressuring me to get the implant-they have really just been giving me the information I need to decide if I want to do this. I did find out from my last audiogram that my hearing has been declining....I have a feeling it will go down even more over the next year or so which is why I think this is the best time for me to get this done.  I did a genetic blood test two weeks ago so we could investigate even further the cause of my deafness. I think we will have the test results back by December 9th. Dr. Roberson said that if there was no indication for my deafness from the blood test, he will make sure he finds out the cause of my loss during my lifetime. :-).  So we will see! Would be nice to know what caused it! 

I will still be wearing a hearing aid in my left ear. I might find that I hear well enough without having to wear my left hearing aid. I will be doing some rehabilitation with hearing specialists and hopefully start having some speech therapy as well. I'm hoping to find those services in the Reno area or maybe Roseville or Sacramento.

As we get closer to the date of surgery, I may have more things to update everyone on. Any questions you have, please feel free to ask!!! I'm excited and nervous and a whole mix of emotions are coming up for me. I can't really comprehend how much this procedure may make a difference in my life, but I know it will-and I am ready to make a leap and I welcome the new change!