Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Sleep Well? Hardly, but amusing anyway

So, I have a long history of having nightmares or downright bizarre (but usually amusing) dreams. It's like my subconscious really likes to regurgitate little thoughts and fragments from my day and spin out a really crazy vivid dream.

I thought I'd share all of the dreams I've had about cochlear implants so far. There's only been two, but when I think about it, I think that some of the regular dreams/nightmares (after the 2nd dream about implants) have had me with a cochlear implant. (Like it's a normal thing!) So I think my mind has somewhat adjusted to that aspect of "identity change" or whatever you would call it. It's really cool, because in the dreams I remember vaguely thinking, "Huh, I have an implant in...." and then just accepting it.

So, the first dream I had was very simple. It was Activation Day! So the audiologist told me to put the processor on, and I did. But it was odd because it hurt a little. The magnet was pressed against my head SO hard that it was ridiculous! The audiologist explained that it was normal and that I wouldn't notice after awhile. The processor was numbing my head a little! I asked, "Should it really be this magnetically tight though?" Then, I just said, "I don't care though. I'm glad because I'll hear! That's what matters!" So Tina turned on the computer and I heard long beeps and the implant pressed against my head even tighter and I woke up!

The second one was about two weeks or so after this one, and it was about two days or so after I had seen this really funny zombie movie called Fido. In it, zombies come to life but are capable of being controlled by wearing a special collar. There was a character in it who actually loved his zombie, but the rest treated their zombies as pets or slaves.

So, the dream was essentially like Fido, except instead of zombies it was robots/cyborgs. More robots though. And at one point, I informed my mom, "Some people LOVE their robots. You know, like actually love them..." and my mom went, "Eww! That's so wrong! That's weird."

I could understand someone becoming attached to anything.

But then somehow it turned into being a bit offended and going, "Well, Mom, I'm a CYBORG and you aren't complaining about people loving me."

Suddenly, all the people that had been around us gathered together and others joined a big MOB formed. They started getting crazy and shouting, "She's a cyborg! Collar her! Get her under control!"

My boyfriend showed up and said this line we both think is really funny (from an anime called Fooly Cooly). "Mixing robots and cyborgs up is a common mistake."

He then calmed the crowd down and insisted it'd make a good movie, so he and I grabbed video cameras and started filming people who, in turn, started "acting." Peace and understanding prevailed. :P

Note: I posted a blog for May 29th that I hadn't gotten around to posting yet! But a question in it was: other than recording what sounds used to sound like to you and keeping a blog, what else did you do or wished you had done, BEFORE you got the implant??

And if you don't wish you had recorded what sounds used to sound like to you, is it because you easily remember what they used to sound like? And are you now forgetting and having them replaced with what you hear with the CI now?

Also, I will comment you all back! Sorry for my lateness :) I really appreciate all your input/thoughts/experiences

Edit::: July 2nd, the first full day with the implant, I had a dream while taking a nap on my couch. I dreamed essentially, that my head hurt REALLY bad due to a bag of radioactive magnets (?!) that an "evil scientist" had brought into the room. I hung it up so I would know where it was and so I could keep away from it, and then I kept thinking, "The other side of my head hurts too! The magnet in my head is REALLY reacting badly, isn't it?" I woke up and realized my right side (non-implant side) was on the couch's sharp corner and that the fan was whirring which hurt the left side thus contributing to the all-over headache and head pain! No radioactive magnets here, folks.

3 comments:

David said...

I like you prefer to answer comments on the writers own blog. It just makes sense as I do not answer your comments on my blog, I prefer to go right to your blog. Plus I so enjoy reading yours!
I love your second dream! I often think of writing a movie script with cochlear implant people being "programmed by the state" :)

Abbie said...

I'm just getting around to replying to all the comments. :)

As for lack of reality when it comes to the surgery, I had the same thing. In fact, it didn't really hit me until they were about to put the gas mask on. I fought with it because I was trying to say to tell them that "Forget it, I don't want to do it!"
Well, needless to say I didn't manage to utter one word and I'm glad I didn't get a chance to.

I think one day I was reading one of the parents of CI childrens blogs and something struck me. I remember my mom getting sick to her stomach. I turned around and asked her and she told me. Her baby was about to go under the knife and get a hole drilled in her head. She didn't take it lightly.

Usually, you would respond to your own blog comment. Most good commenters like myself will check that box down below that says Email follow-up comments to email address. Once that is checked, anytime that someone leaves a comment, that person will get an email alerting them. Nifty trick :) But you have to hope they check it lol.

I can safely say that activation day will not be like your dream :) You hardly feel the magnet. :)

To be honest, since I am prelingual just like you, I never really had a grasp of a great abundance of sound. The CI does a far better job of introducing a more array of sound that a HA could never pick up. The only thing I miss is the bass which my HA hardly picks up anymore.

David said...

Tasha, fridge picture is at start of post.