Activation

Thank you.. Thank you for having me in your mind and heart today. To be honest, I'm nearly dead and not wearing my glasses. Wearing two things on my ear is too much to handle and it hurts. Well, I'm stuck without glasses for awhile.

Alright, I know you guys are looking forward to hear stories from me. Dad have told you lot of things that has happened to me. (I’m going to add Dad’s comments on family website:

“Laynie got turned on! At first it did not seem to be much of a big deal. She just thought something weird was going on in her head. To start they just made the volume low until she learns to get used to all that sound in her head. She is supposed to turn it up every day as her brain learns to ignore the background noise and she gets to recognize what sounds are.

After our visit with the audiologist we were going to go home, but Laynie thought that she needed to go to the bathroom. The first thing that surprised her was that her zipper made a noise and she had to play with her zipper after realizing what it was. Then when she flushed the toilet, it nearly scared her to death. I suppose she must have thought that the whole building was getting flushed. She still looked rattled when she came out of the bathroom and she was afraid to drive home from the hospital.

We were going to go out to dinner but we decided to come back to Laynie's apartment for Laynie's nerves to calm down. Right now she is starting to get used to things and she has even started to experiment. She has been making sounds to see what they sound like and she just tried eating a cracker which really started her giggling.

Next Tuesday she goes back to the audiologist to be reprogrammed. It looks like it will take a while before they get everything adjusted correctly (in her brain as well as in the computer).”

So I think this experience was very WEIRD. I mean it, VERY WEIRD feelings. Today was longest for all of us. It's only 8:27pm. Oh dear, Dad is right. Nothing fancy has happened to me. Steve, audiologist, said I need to get used to it. This program is just only beginning for now. I'll have to go back this Tuesday to reprogrammed. I have no idea how it would be but hopefully it would be much better than today!

Seriously, when we finally go in the room. I thought I might have to use audiometer or something but I was WRONG! We went in Steve's office, that's where he programmed my first mapping. I remember everything went fast. I saw stuff on the table and Steve said those are mine! Mouth fell--that lot of stuff to bring home. Anyway, he started to explained that he will do test me to see if I can hear the sounds. He told me that I'll hear the beep. Okay, I was ready to listen for the beep. I was waiting for Steve to start. I was extremely nervous. I had no idea how sounds it would be.

Suddenly I feel a bit weird on my chest and head. I felt like I'm going to dizzy or something. It's hard to explain but not really throbbing but feel like it but no pain. I was oh no I'm getting panic but it hits me... THAT SOUNDS FROM MY COCHLEAR IMPLANT!!!! It throw me confused and don't know how to describe the sounds. It was very strange feelings that the sounds spread in my head while throbbing. Everything didn't make sense to me. I almost like it's blowing a thorn but repeat! It started from quiet to loud. OH BOY!

It surly made my brain confused. It took not long to complete this mapping. He explained how I can use and put it together. Then I'm done until Tuesday. Dad have told you most of it.
We left the office and I had to go to the bathroom. Amazing, I heard the toilet paper ripe when I took it. And the flushed scared me to death. I was like GROANS! (Goodness my toilet flush at home didn't make THAT LOUD...) Well, Annie made a good point. That bathroom at the hospital do have echo. It made louder than our bedroom in apartment.

While Annie was driving us to go home, it was overwhelming for me. I was going to cry because overwhelming and weird going on inside of me. Hahaha. I just remember that Steve said the strange will go away. Everything will get better. I guess I need to be extra patience and go second miles on that one.

Umm there are few things I heard that I have never heard such as zipper, eating a stix, turn the light on from the switch, make noise from my mouth when I talk, and umm. I need to make a listing what I have heard. There were two things that surprised me. It was eating a stix because it was so crunchy! Wow I heard crack and crunch! Wow. Then I started to talk and heard my tongue clicks and moves. OH OH I even heard my big signs. Oh my! I surly made lots of noise! Oh boy!!!
I wonder how much I would hear...:S But good things..

Okay, I better stop because I'm getting tired and ready to drop on my bed soon. I promise I'll fill you in more later. Love you!!