Sunday 19th October 2008 - My CI centre support group

This afternoon we met up in the CI centre for our get together. All the staff were there including my CI surgeon who had retired this Summer. It was great for all of us together and to catch up and meet new people and chat in a informal setting. The staff and the leader of our group has provided drinks and cakes for us. Whilst I was there, I was shocked to see one of my Deaf friends there who I know quite well for a few years. I hadn't seen him for a while, but I know last time we met, I was still undergoing my CI assessment and he had been assessed and was suitable but wanted to put it on one side for a while. So I was wondering why he was at our social. My friend saw me and we both said Hi (he is a BSL user too and we were the only BSL users there) and embraced each other in front of our retired CI surgeon and our CI audiologist. Our retired surgeon and our CI audiologist were watching us as we greeted each other and asked each other why we were both there. We both turned to show each other our cochlear implants, I was shocked that he has one and he was shocked that I had one. We both didn't know that each other had actually gone for the op. Our CI audiologist and retired CI surgeon (who operated on both of us) asked us if we knew each other and we both said yes, we know each other quite well. Then my friend and I started talking to our CI audiologist and comparing notes of our experience at switch on. Our CI audiologist had switched us both on, and we both compared notes of our switch on experience and our experience since. It was a very interesting chat and we had similar experiences. My friend like me, is also profoundly deaf from birth hence our similar experiences in our cochlear implant journeys. Our CI audiologist found this very interesting to hear.

Saturday 11th October 2008 - Theme parks

Today was a mad day. I was meeting a friend at Chessington World of Adventures, but before that, I had to dashed to my opticians in Hagley before going there for 11am. I managed it. This was the first time I went back on the theme park rides. I am a great fan of theme park rides. I go on all the big rollercoasters and certainly love Alton Towers. Since I had my CI, I haven't been back on the theme park rides since..today is the first day back on them. I was alittle apprehensive of going back onto the big rollercoaster type rides that I love as I was worried about dislodging the internal parts of the CI. I went ahead anyway as I have heard of loads of CI users go on fast rollercoasters. I went on Vampire and this is the fastest and my favourite ride at Chessington and when the harness thing came down I realise that if gravity is suddenly forced my head to the right, I would hit my implant area on the harness, so I stuck my head out of the harness during the ride and it was fine. I took the external part off though. And boy I enjoyed the ride. When I came off, I quickly put the processor back on and was relieved that it was all ok. I went back on Vampire again and went on at the back which was alot more thrilling - YAY!! When I was standing in the queue for some of these rides, I could hear the rides going past me and hear all the people screaming. The sound of the screaming was interesting, they were at different levels, and different sounds - I never noticed that before. I went on loads of other rides at the theme park and we had a brilliant day and it was great to be back on the rollercoasters again and enjoy them just as much as before.

Friday 10th October 2008 - first Autumn sounds

Today I went out on a walk in the countryside and have noticed more new sounds. The sounds of birds were still there, and whilst walking through this field, I could hear the bells chiming on the hour from the church spire of the nearby village. I could also hear the trains rattling on the tracks on a railway line in the distance. I couldn't believe it!! My CI has certainly making more and more of a difference to my experience of the countryside. Later on, we were walking along a footpath towards the village and I noticed another new sound. It was the crispy autumn leaves crunching under my feet!! WOW - I had never experienced that before :-)