14th entry ~ October 31, 2023 ~ Halloween!

The CAT scan went smoothly, but when I got up from the table I was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea that took several minutes to subside. I laid back on the table and the technician propped my feet up and added cold compresses to my forehead and to the back of my neck. I felt a bit on the queasy side for much of the rest of the day (yesterday).

Early on in this process, shortly after I requested to download a document from the Cochlear™ web page, a Cochlear representative sent me an introductory email, asking about any questions I may have. Her name is Jessica Eggleston and she signs her messages with the title ‘Concierge.’ I’ve only responded briefly to her messages – and have never mentioned her to any of the folks at Hearts for Hearing. Her first email came July 1^st; thankfully, they come only periodically and not on a regular schedule. Yesterday, mid-morning (about an hour after I got home from the CAT scan), I had another message from her, the first since the latter part of September, kind of a ‘checking in’ note. I responded that I am scheduled for surgery and gave her the date for surgery and for the activation date and the related follow-up sessions.

I was surprised today to get another note from her, introducing one Kasey Urbina, whose will be my Cochlear™ Recipient Solutions Manager. She said that Kasey “is here to educate and empower you to get the most out of your Cochlear equipment and achieve your hearing goals. Kayse will be your new personal point of contact once your surgery is complete and you have joined our Cochlear Family of implant recipients.” Evidently, Cochlear™ has regional managers like this; Kasey is the manager for the Texas-Oklahoma region. The email continues: “Kayse teaches small group educational sessions and also meets one-on-one, all in a virtual setting with captions available. She is very helpful, and is a great resource!”

This is the exact sort of thing that I am expecting to receive from Hearts for Hearing. At this stage of the process, nobody has ever mentioned any sort of representative from the company being available for anything like this. I guess I’m pleased that they offer the service, but it was a complete surprise. I will definitely mention it to my audiologists (HA and CI) at Hearts for Hearing and see if they are aware of it and, if so, if they recommend it. Come to think of it, I will also check with members of a couple of the Facebook support groups I belong to. They will all have opinions to share, I am certain. J

I plan to make a ‘Hearing Update’ on my Facebook page sometime this week, ahead of surgery. It won’t be much, just a note to let friends know of the surgery, the activation, the follow-ups, and what I expect to be doing between the date of surgery and the date of activation. Those four weeks will be really weird, with one ear heavily bandaged, for a few days at least, and the use of a hearing aid in the other. I already have major problems understanding much of anything when I am using both hearing aids; I am certain that the use of only one will not be very helpful – not at all! At this moment, my plan is to ‘lay low’ for those four weeks and avoid going out much. I plan a four-week vacation from church, but will return as soon as my CI is activated, so I can begin trying to make sense of the sounds it will generate in my brain.

What I’ve learned about living with a CI, especially for senior citizens, is that we will be working every day, during our waking hours, with audio rehabilitation, always listening and always trying to improve our ability to understand what it going on around us. I suppose that there is a point at which improvement weakens, or stops altogether, which is common with some other types of surgeries. In all the reading I’ve done about it, though, nobody has suggested that the rehab efforts ever end.

13th entry ~ October 25, 2023

I had a call from Norman Regional HealthPlex two days ago, asking to schedule an MRI ordered by Dr. Berryhill. I told the scheduler that Dr. Berryhill had agreed to my request for a CAT scan instead of an MRI. Of course, she can’t change a doctor’s order. The woman I talked to said she would contact the doctor’s office and would let me know what to do next. Today I received another call from a different scheduler, asking to schedule the MRI exam; the first person had not followed through with the call to Dr. Berryhill and the second person knew nothing about the first conversation.

We were ready to go to lunch, so we drove to Dr. Berryhill’s office and I reported the problem. I recalled that the nurse had told me earlier that Dr. Berryhill typically takes a two-week vacation in October – and learned that he is halfway through his vacation and will not be back in the office until next Wednesday. The nurse offered to call him and see if he would authorize the change over the telephone. She promised to call me back if/when she got such an approval.

I called to relay that information to the scheduler. While we were driving to lunch, a call from Berryhill’s office came, inquiring why I am hesitant to have the MRI. I explained my extreme claustrophobia, having experienced it once a few years ago. She called me back a little later, reporting that he had approved the change and that they had faxed the order to the hospital – to Community Hospital, where my surgery is scheduled. I relayed to her that the first order had gone to Norman Regional HealthPlex. She apologized and said she would send it there – and she hit the ‘Send’ button before I hung up the phone. The scheduler at Norman Regional HealthPlex said the fax would go into a queue and she would call me as soon as she had received it – and if I’d not heard from her by 3:45 to call her back.

Meanwhile, midafternoon I got a call from Community Hospital asking about scheduling the CAT scan. I told her of the mistake, and she canceled the order. At 3:45 I called the scheduler at Norman Regional and we finally got the CAT scan scheduled. I’m to be there Monday morning, Oct. 30^th, at 8:45 for check-in. The scan is scheduled at 9:15 and she said I’d be finished by 9:30.

I’m glad it worked out. I was already envisioning the surgery being delayed and the series of appointments at Hearts for Hearing having to be changed. All is on schedule, thankfully! I hope there will be no other glitches between now and November 7^th.

12th entry ~ October 21, 2023

I have a bit more information to share, but not a whole lot. Carolyn and I have both gotten the flu and COVID booster vaccinations and will receive our RSV shots this coming week. I have learned that the vaccine for the pneumonia shot is in the same ‘family’ of vaccines as the shot for meningitis. I am current on my pneumonia shots, having had two this year, so have laid that concern aside.

I’m scheduled to serve as our church pianist on Sunday, November 5^th, just prior to my surgery. November 5^th is the day we ‘fall back’ to Standard Time; it is also communion Sunday and All Saints Day. It will be an emotional day for me, since it’s uncertain when, or even whether, I’ll be able to return to the piano after my CI is activated. I have every confidence that my recovery will be quick and full, and that I’ll be playing piano fairly soon and that I’ll be able to return to the bass section in our church choir ‘in relatively short order,’ hopefully in a matter of weeks.

This week, I received a letter from Hearts for Hearing informing me of my appointment schedule for activation and the first two follow-up mapping sessions. Activation Day is December 5^th, precisely four weeks following surgery. The first follow-up is a week later, December 12^th, and the second follow-up is four weeks after Activation Day, on January 9^th. Basically, I’ll be ‘out of commission’ from November 14^th at least through December 5^th – and likely for a period of time after that. If memory serves, I will also have appointments at three months, at six months, and at one year – so probably March 5^th, June 4^th, and December 10^th (if they keep it on the first Tuesday of the month).

I made a second call to Dr. Berryhill’s nurse and left another message concerning the schedule for my CT scan. She’s not returned my call and I will not call again. To use a common sports analogy, the ball is in her court. I’ve lobbed the ball – twice – and she’s missed both of them. I can only hope that the procedure will be scheduled fairly soon, so that all of these dates don’t have to be delayed.