I am doing okay overall. Maybe going a bit crazy because I am not used to sitting around. It is definitely an adjustment. Especially since it is spring time, and therefore gardening season! I am itching to get out there and start separating my perennials!! Nothing like digging in the soil after a long, cold winter to make you feel productive and lift your spirits. I have hired 2 talented ladies from Girls in the Garden to get things started until I am allowed to bend and lift.
The worst issue right now is tinnitus and a feeling of pressure behind my ear. It is equivalent to a really bad headache localized to the right side of my head. Which is accompanied by a symphony of ringing, roaring and buzzing that reaches a crescendo, then wanes after a few minutes. I highly doubt that anyone would want to attend this concert...It dramatically worsens if I bend over, get up too fast, and/or when my left hearing aid picks up a loud noise. Therefore, I have been leaving my hearing aid off most of the time and will need to avoid busy, loud environments, at least for now.
DISCLAIMER: If you are queasy about blood or staples etc. do not scroll down or click "Read more". I have posted a picture of my incision with staples (1 week post op). It is actually not too bad with minimal blood. I have included it mainly to document the recovery process, and to help others visualize what their incision might look like 1 week after the surgery.
You can see that there is a bit of a bruise on my cheek in front of my ear. As instructed, I have been applying polysporin to the incision daily. That is why my hair is all shiny and gross. I can't wait to wash my hair after the staples are removed on Monday!! It looks like it's growing back a bit already.
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| Incision: One week post op |
I can definitely feel the staples pulling on my skin, especially when I turn my head, but otherwise it's not too bad.
My ear is still numb, especially along the top and side. However, I can feel the sensation coming back. Apparently it takes 1 or 2 months for this to be restored to normal.
22 more days until activation day .... nothing to do now but wait.
You are so brave love ,congradulations ,, but I am worried about you and I am sure you looked into it and are positive about this love ya !!
ReplyDeleteLinda
the bad part is over. when I had mine I had a infection problem with the skin on my right ear. looks like the doctor put yours above your ear. that is where mine is. I have had mine since Feb 16 and of course I am switched on now. I can hear great. Noise is everywhere. I can hear the keys right now as I type. the big problem is voice recognition. words. what people are saying still sounds Chinese a lot of the time. I still have to lip read but in a large room with lots of other noise, like where I work, than I am almost helpless. people are behind me often and I am so scared I don't get what they say. I feel like I am a defender of cochlear implants by all the bad comments and questions I get. people still roll their eyes when I don't hear them and snigger behind my back. oh well, do the best we can. direction of sound is also still a problem. I have one implant and some hearing in my left ear but I have a problem with noise recognition and location at times. good luck to ya. do you have the nucleus 5?
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