1 WEEK

It's just about one week until my surgery for the CI. I am feeling the nervousness for sure, I am eating everything in sight haha! :( I am excited for the process to finally be here though. I am not nervous at all about the surgery itself, i'm more nervous about after and re-learning everything, but I am excited to hear new sounds that i've never heard before. There have been some misunderstandings and questions that I would like to clarify for you guys.

• I will NOT magically be able to hear as soon as the surgery is over. After surgery, I will be completely deaf with absolutely NO hearing for 4 weeks.
• Once it is activated (4 weeks later when everything is healed), I will be able to "hear" something. It won't be the same as what I hear now. It's going to be completely brand new to me. At first, it is going to sound a little computer like or like alvin and the chipmunks or something, I won't know. It's different for everyone. I will go back to Dallas every couple of weeks for them to tune it to a different "channel" every time and "map" it out until it is perfect. The time frame is different for everyone, but it can take up to a year until I am hearing perfectly.
• With that said, just because I can "hear" doesn't mean I will be able to "understand" what I am hearing. My ear will kind of be like a baby, and it is having to re-learn every sound that I am hearing because it is going to sound different. When they turn it on, I won't be able to understand everything like I can now.
• The first few months will be a roller coaster of emotions for me and everyone around me because i'm trying to match what voices go to what face, what sounds belong to what, and I will be hearing new sounds that i've never heard before. A guy told my mom that his mother (who got a CI a few years ago) broke down in tears when she found out that she was hearing a locust. She said that it was a beautiful sound, annoying, but beautiful. I've never heard that sound before either, so i'm excited for this new adventure.
• I have to be prepared for noise overload when I first get it turned on. A guy that has CI's told me that he could only handle two hours of having it on at a time because he had to process everything that he was hearing.
• My Memaw mentioned to me today about me never being able to hear a cooing baby and I am SO excited because I have a new baby cousin coming in December and I will be able to hear him/her coo.

If y'all have anymore questions, feel free to contact me. I really don't mind talking about it! Thank y'all again for the amazing support and the prayers. You guys are awesome! <3