One month since cochlear implant activation

The last two weeks flew by before I had a chance to sit down to give an update.  I went to the Mayo Clinic on Sept. 14 for my check-up and mapping appointment.  The next day I had to take my 5 year old son, Luke, to the ER because he was coughing and having trouble breathing.  He was probably allergic to something in the air (this is harvest time up here- we live in a farming community) and had a reaction.  The doctors put him on prednisone and antibiotics and a nebulizer.  He is doing much better, but still has the occasional cough.
Fred's mom came up here a few days after.  She took care of the children while Fred and I went down to Dallas, TX for 6 days for a pastor's and wives encouragement conference, which happens to be at our brother-in-law's church.  Fred's sister and her family live there, and it was such a treat to visit with them.
We just got back 3 days ago.  So it's been a whirlwind for me with adjusting to the cochlear implant, working, Luke's ordeal, getting ready for our trip, spending time with family, and school events.

My appointment at the Mayo went well.  I told my audiologist how everything was so loud and had to resist the urge to take the CI out at times.  But I told her I was able to hear sounds so much better.  I told her about the crickets and being able to hear the ''S'' sound.  She did more mapping and turned down the volume of different tones a bit.  She changed the settings on my remote so that I could control the background noise when people talk to me.  After she finished the mapping, she did a hearing test to see how I hear with the CI as compared to my hearing test done in May with my hearing aid.  I could hear just about every sound on the test and did WAY better than I did with my hearing aid.  That was exciting to me!

However.  I find that I have an even harder time trying to understand people.  I think its because the middle tones are too low and the higher sounds are louder than the sound of people's voices.  So it seems like I can only hear people when there's no noise around.  I was trying hard not to feel discouraged the last 2 weeks.  Especially at school and at the conference we went to, where there are many people and conversations going on.  When there's a lot of noise, it all sounds like a loud hum and its very distracting when I'm trying to understand the person talking to me.  I have to rely on reading lips even harder.  So I am even more exhausted by the end of the day.

I was very pleased with my new "map" at the Mayo, but after I got home I realized I didn't like the new map.  It's hard to know if it's going to effective when it's done in a quiet room.  I think I'm going to bring my family to the next appointment so they can all talk at once and see how I do when one of them talk to me.  My next appointment is not until November, but my audiologist said I can change it to earlier if I want to.

I had a great time at the conference, even though I had a hard time hearing.  Each year, the church in Texas invites 10 pastors and their wives to the conference to encourage them and lift them up so they feel refreshed and recharged by the time they go back home.  Fred and I were honored to be one of the ones they chose this year.  It was a real blessing to be there.
I especially enjoyed listening to the guest speaker's wife during the women's sessions.  She was easy for me to understand (we were in a quiet sunday school room), and she was a dynamic speaker.  Her love for Jesus is so real and infectious.  The joy of the Lord just spilled out of her, and I wanted what she has!  The key to having such a relationship is to spend time with Jesus everyday, and treat him like he's right there with you all the time...spend time reading His Word and talk to him.  Make him priority, and everything will fall into place, no matter what situation we are in.  I knew this already, but I am not always consistent in my quiet times, especially when I am so busy.  But if we don't "keep our eyes on Jesus" we will sink.