Last night was the first night of normal sleep for me following surgery. The first night was not good; I hardly slept – not because of pain around the incision, but because of the pain due to my sore throat and the incessant coughing I was experiencing, coupled with quite intense levels of tinnitus. Right after surgery, as we were driving home, I noticed that the tinnitus was quite mild. Toward evening, though, it began to intensify and it was quite disturbing during the night, to the point that it awakened me about 12:45 (having done to bed about 10:30). I slept only ‘fitfully’ after that – and the next night was very similar.
This morning, my throat is still sore, though not nearly as much as it has been for the past few days. The tinnitus continues with moderate intensity. My incision is healing nicely; it’s becoming somewhat itchy. I don’t scratch it, of course, but am able to gently rub along the length of it. I am following the hospital’s instructions religiously – wash the incision twice daily and treat with one of the recommended ointments, which I picked up from the pharmacy yesterday morning (they were out of stock when we picked up the three prescriptions – one for nausea (not needed), one for pain (also not needed), and one antibiotic (twice daily for ten days).
I had a quite mild experience with loss of taste initially, but it wasn’t total and it didn’t last long. I felt well enough after surgery to recommend we have lunch at Interurban in Norman. Tuesday was their ‘Hamburger Day’ and I ordered a hamburger and homemade potato chips – not at all a good choice, considering my throat had been subject to a breathing tube and was quite sore. The chips were mostly tasteless; I could tell that the ‘burger was a ‘burger, but it wasn’t nearly as tasty as I know them to be. Everything was terribly dry, to the point that I had trouble swallowing. At that meal, water didn’t seem to help the dry mouth very much at all. The dry mouth syndrome continues, particularly during my sleep; when I wake up, my mouth is dry and feels ‘crackly.’ I have been consuming quite a lot of water. I continue to drink coffee as I did before, but it doesn’t taste the same.
My appointment with Dr. Frederick (Dr. Berryhill’s PA) is on the 14th, one week following surgery. I don’t quite know what to expect, other than a brief inspection of the incision. I hope he will tell me that I can wash my hair without fear of getting water in my implanted ear. I showered yesterday afternoon and used the plastic ‘bowl’ protector the hospital provided to keep the water from my ear – and I avoided using the hand-held sprayer near the ear. I’ll be glad to finally be able to wash my hair without worrying about where the water goes!
I wrote this paragraph in my family letter, The Epistle, yesterday:
Someone posted a note on Facebook yesterday that it was World Piano Day or some-such thing and I said that I’d make an effort to play the piano. Later in the evening, Carolyn asked, “Did you play piano today?” I hadn’t, so took the time to play one piece. OmiLordy! The piano sounds weak and tinny, and almost as if it was being played from across the room. I’d been at my laptop pretty much the whole day and my eyes were so blurry I was having trouble reading the music. Speaking of which, my eyes are a little bit blurry right now! I should close things up – (1) my laptop and (2) my eyes – and take a rest!
Trying to communicate with just one hearing aid has proven to be mostly an impossibility. In order to hear Carolyn speak to me, she has to come and stand by my side. If she is any farther away from me, I have absolutely no clue about what she is saying. I can talk on the phone, but it’s not at all a pleasant experience to do so. The difference between hearing with one hearing aid versus two is not unlike the difference between old monaural recordings and Surround Sound – except I have trouble making any sense of the sound from the single hearing aid! Thinking ahead to Activation Day and beyond, when I have finally acclimated myself to hearing with the CI, I am concerned that the differences between the CI and the hearing aid will be at least as extreme. My thinking right now is that I will likely ‘retire’ this hearing aid and opt for one made by ReSound™ – one that is specifically designed to be fully compatible with my Cochlear™ Nucleus 8 cochlear implant.
We have had several food deliveries from friends. Dennis & Ann Smith brought us soup and cookies from Panera Bread Tuesday evening – and apple pie from Carol’s Kitchen last evening; Kathryn Adkins and Stephanie Parks brought us some roast beef, potatoes, carrots, brown gravy, and cake on Wednesday, and Ron & Velma House brought us some homemade lasagna, salad, and homemade pumpkin bread last night. We still have enough of the roast and lasagna for a couple more meals.
I drove myself to the pharmacy yesterday morning to pick up the ointment. I should have asked Carolyn to drive me instead (she offered to do so). I drove fine, but felt a little bit 'wobbly' in the car seat, almost as if I'd had a drink or two. I could drive without wavering, though - thankfully. The doctors gave no restrictions on driving, so I felt like it was safe for me to do so. I feel better today than I did yesterday, but don't think I'm up to driving quite yet. I"ll probably drive myself down to the doctor's office next Tuesday. It's only a mile south of us.
