Stitches Out!!

Yay!! I got my stitches out today! It is one week and one day since my surgery.

But... why didn't anybody tell me it would hurt?! OH MY GOSH. It really hurt because the stitches were tight and Dr. Rubenstein had to get little scissors and fit them under the stitches and snip them off, and of course the stitches moved a bit when he cut them.

There was a point where I stopped him and just asked, "Is it SUPPOSED to hurt?" He smiled sweetly and answered, "Just a little bit."

Liar. You were nice today- really really nice, but it wasn't "just a little bit."

I had intended to take aspirin right before my appointment (clever me!) but forgot (not so clever!).... but at least they're out! And the doctor says they're healing perfectly and right on track. Yay! :)

A lot of the staff came around to say hi, including Tina (audiologist) and her assistant... they all seem excited for me. It's really wonderful seeing the level of care they possess.

It's great having the stitches out because now it doesn't itch quite so much. (I never knew how much a TINY bit of thread could itch and make you crazy! Definitely the proverbial single straw that broke the camel's back.)

It isn't bleeding and didn't at all when the stitches were cut. So, my fear of my skin splitting open, bleeding and revealing the white boniness of my skull...... totally soothed.

I'll post a picture later :)

Hope everybody is enjoying the warm weather- I know I am. Especially since the doctor said, "You can resume normal activities."

Summer, here I cooome! I got books from the library and have plans so I'm not bored anymore :D My best friend Tess should be here any minute!

I have a SPEECH CONSULTANT appointment scheduled for July 30th at Seattle Children's Hospital.... I reallyyyyy hope I get approved because then I'll get to have speech classes every week. I really want this. I really really do.

**edit** I found out July 2nd, on my 2nd mapping the day after activation, that I don't need to get approved- I already am! EXCITING!! :)

Activation is July 1st. Yet another countdown begins... I'm actually kind of glad it's in a week, because that gives me a week before I wear it and REALLY devote myself to learning all that I can.

The way I look at it is, infants have one year (plus some!) to basically adjust to the world around them and learn about sound and I won't have this period of "silence" and "total brain devotion" to learning.... so I'll have to work extra hard. I can't just expect it all to come to me subconsciously although I do think our brains can be extraordinarily self-adjusting!

I plan to listen to (See my Useful Links on right) online spoken word-tests, pitch perception, lots of listening and asking people what the sound is, and whatever resources the hospital can give me or Hearing Journey's resources. Any other ideas, folks?

I'm afraid to do the pitch perception test after activation, because I tried so hard on the pitch perception test so many times and did fairly well but not as well as I'd like.... and I'm afraid that my pitch perception score will only improve a small amount...... it's the big "A" that gets me here- ANTICIPATION. But it's also what sustains me ! Excited, excited.... :D

Just a funny note: I met some deaf customers at my Starbucks the other day, and they were surprised to find out I was deaf when they asked how I could sign. One of them mentioned they grew up with the oral method and I accidentally burst out with, "I wish I had grown up oral deaf! Lucky!" --- they both looked at me, amused. Yes, that isn't something most deaf people would say.

Part 2 of Update (5 days postop)

(Lovely 80s hair thanks to the bandage. This is me after they changed my bandage day after surgery and I'm holding the removed bandage... complete with the blood!)

So, the days following the surgery, my head didn't hurt THAT much, but that was mainly because I was so faithfully being administered medicine by Ian. But nights and early mornings were worse, I'd say. It was hard to find an easy position to sleep in and it often would flare up at night for some reason. Then when I'd wake up it was like my head had a reaction to the changing-of-positions that is waking up. But, it is now Sunday, nearly a WEEK after surgery already!! And my head has some trivial aching if I touch the stitches or the area around it. It's still a bit tender. I felt a little dizzy all day yesterday, but not OVERLY dizzy. I'm glad I have an appointment on Tuesday so I can ask them about this. Moving my head side to side doesn't cause any dizziness but it does cause my head to swim for a second. This morning, I put my finger in my left ear and WOAH. The room soared.

Nice, I can alter my sense of reality just by putting my finger in my ear.

It doesn't do that now though. It does hurt if I lie on that side though, but it's not a serious pain. It's just ..pain. The threads from the stitches itch my ear sometimes because they're kind of long and knotted off!! That was driving me crazy last night and the night before, but now it doesn't seem to be a problem.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment or was thinking of me or helped out in some way :) My journey is just starting!!! I am a cyborg, but not a fired-up one yet. Tony Stark, (Iron Man) get out of the way....

Activation is scheduled for July 1st. I don't think that it's to allow my head to heal, since I've heard of people getting activated very soon after surgery! I think it's more that their time flexibility is pretty tight and the Mappings take 3-4 hours each.

My goodness, I can't wait. But I'm also really nervous. But so far, I WANT to say I've noticed improvement, even without it being activated. I have NO clue how this would work. Maybe it's the "power of the mind" or maybe it's the nerves being momentarily startled, stirring to life by the gentle prod of the electrode array that is now in my cochlea. Whatever it is, sounds seem more ...sharp? To give an example, leaves and rocks still don't have the refreshing crunch-crunch that I imagine they should, but it seems more CLEAR where it's coming from and as though more of the intricateness of sound has been opened up to me. Dare I say, I hear more individualness than just a "whole" sound.... this is what I really aspired, hoped, wished for, with the surgery, because this will allow me to possibly learn some speech.

The other day, my father, sister, and I were taking a walk through this woody area. I was walking ahead of everyone, watching the dog bounce from bush to bush, and I heard my dad speak loudly. "Tasha." I turned around. It was a moment of surprise for both of us. It didn't automatically register as my name, but it didn't require much THINKING. It was almost like my mind processed it before I could, which is a huge difference.

What? What am I saying? Am I building myself up for too much? Perhaps- I'm still making sure I keep a rein on reality and on "low" expectations. But what could be the cause of this heightened sense of sound? And will it last? Only time will reveal.

5 Days After Surgery

Sorry I haven't updated!! I've basically been letting myself use the excuse that I have to wait to find my camera cord to upload my pictures first!! :P Well, I just moved to my summer housing. Yes, I am on my own since Saturday (5 full days after surgery) I spent Monday and part of Tuesday at the hospital, Tuesday through Wednesday with Ian at my mom's house, Thursday at my mom's (while she was gone to work and 4 kids under the age of 14 were in said house), and Friday went to my dad's with my sister around 5pm.

It's a fraternity- they're letting girls live in it (along with some of the boys), for the summer. The whole summer is only $350 which is why I opted to live there. That, and I wanted to meet people. So far it's been REALLY boring... but I have a constant need to be entertained, to DO, or to be with SOMEBODY. So I have to get over that!

So, I woke up groggily this morning, having gotten little sleep because I was spending whatever last moment I could with my boyfriend before he left for a week. I wandered into the bathroom in the fraternity. I was shocked, seriously. "WHAT?! Is this actually a bathroom people USE?" So, later that day, after work, I cleaned it! :P It was DISGUSTING but surprisingly didn't take long. Take a wild guess at which one is the "before" and "after" picture. I bet you can't do it. ;-)



Anyway, so I'm doing really well!! There is not even much pain AT ALL. The monotony of my summer vacation thus far hurts more. Okay, I'll quit saying that :P....

But, I will admit I overestimated my ability to move around the first few days after surgery. I was surprised at how drugged up I was! They gave me oxycontin, percontin, green antibodies (clindamycin), colace (an anti-constipation medicine which I haven't been taking since I haven't had any need to, to say the least!) and suggested taking tylenol along with the oxycontin. So I was pretty darn drugged up. So drugged up, in fact, that I think this deserves its own post. :P So that is below, along with the SURGERY DAY post.

My experience as a college teenage girl with a partly shaved-head and 10 stitches have actually been very .. well, uneventful. I'm not embarrassed. The only time I felt mildly potentially put-off by it was when I was meeting people at my new summer home, to which I found a way to subtly interject the fact I got surgery. Everyone greeted it with enthusiastic reception or little reaction.

Hyah! My skin has been subjected to the sharp precision of a knife, my skull to the whirring mechanical drill, and then I have been put back together, tied off with black stitches. What do people really have to think about it anyway? So I don't care. No degree of vainness about the "shaved" spot is possessing me. In fact, I almost love it. I am constantly rubbing the shaved spot which feels intriguing with the short hair. None of my stitches are really where my hair was---just mainly very near the ear, where Ian pointed out, people DONT have hair on anyway. The only spot I have stitches on my hair is right above the earlobe. I count 3 stitches by touch and one of them is actually under hair.

The "bump" (omigod!) is there. I discovered it on Friday night, much to my horror and then fascination. Ok, so we end up with a bump. Huh. I was not told this. Someone showed me their bump as a "terrible" thing once. But I look at MINE as a new interesting thing to show off randomly. I have a bump on my head that nobody can see but you can feel.

So what? It is yet another testament of my body's strength to heal. I do get scared it'll rip through or something though....! It seems like the skin is awfully thin to have the device under... but no need to start building bridges that don't need to exist. I'll ask about that on Tuesday and probably amuse the staff as a result.

I don't even try to hide my head. If I wished to do so, it's EASY to hide with my hair. But for the first few days I wore a ponytail. People say it isn't easy to notice at all, since the stitches are behind my ear. This is a picture my sweet Ian took, when he was cleaning my stitches on Day 3 after surgery. It looks like a great deal of hair is missing, but
rest assured, it's easily hidden. It DOES seem like a lot, but how much compared to some of you, I'm not sure.

Experience 1: Walking to the store with Ian 2 days after surgery. Nobody noticed my ear at all, even though I had my hair in a ponytail. I felt a bit "exposed"... poor me, getting surgery. I was eager to show off my "battle scars!" and also curious to conduct my own little experiment on how many people noticed. They didn't seem to! I think it's because it's BEHIND the ear and really not visible from the front at all.

Experience 2: Standing in Seattle at nighttime, waiting for a bus to downtown on Saturday night.

Me: (Standing)
Random Guy: (Smiles at me as he walks past)
Me: (Smiles back)
RG: (Walks past me, stops, comes back)
RG: "Hey."
Me: "Hi." (Out loud)
RG: (Shooting an look at my head) "Hey, can you talk? I mean, do you talk?"

I can only assume he saw the stitches, or picked up on how quietly and possibly oddly I said "hi."

Me: *gestures* Kind of. (Out loud) "Mmmm..."
RG: "Cool hair."

And as I was ONLY wearing a ponytail.... I picked up on that he noticed my stitches, because he walked past and must've been looking at me from behind, before he came back with the intention to hit on me :P Thank you, nice random guy.

RG proceeded to ask me for my phone number and then on a date, to which I laughingly replied I had a boyfriend.

RG: "Aw man! Damn...Well.. okay."

Drugged

I'm not sleeping
Oh no, I won't
I'm not sleeping
Wide awake
Wide awake
Wide awake

I'll stay this way
Keeping myself up

No sleep, no sleep.
Can't let myself fall into it

Wow, the drugs kept me singing mentally a steady rhythm of this little thing I came up with above. Keeping myself up, keeping myself up, not sleeping.... Yes. I REALLY did not want to sleep even though I knew it was something good for me. It was ARTIFICIAL tiredness, which is what bothered me. The fact the drugs were making me tired sporadically! I REALLY recommend just sleeping it all off though, were it not me.. of course, I don't take my own wise advice. Sleep is GREAT though. I just know that it really helped me and it really felt like it healed me more because my body had a chance to just shut down and focus on few things.

Goodness, though. At one point I was downright high. I was just laughing and laughing on my mom's huge bed, with Ian staring down at me before he erupted in giggles. I kept denying it until I realized it WAS true. I had been taking 3 tablets of oxycontin every 3 hours! It doesn't seem like a whole lot but believe me it is, when you're all drugged up. My head ACHED. Oh man, it did. It ached. I was just thankful my eye didn't hurt the way it did immediately after surgery.

I tried my best not to be a whiner and to keep everyone's spirits up, including my own. So I was steadfastly smiling, but this is already my personality anyway. It's kind of "Life is an adventure to be lived and it's better lived in the best spirits because that way you can experience the most, the best."

But there were very few moments I just wanted to be a whiner, but I wouldn't allow myself. And anyway, Ian treated me with such care that I had NO reason to need to whine. In fact, I was downright happy. He made the whole thing SO much better by being there and by showing me so much love and care. My siblings were sweet too. They made me a card and posted signs and balloons. My mom stayed overnight in the hospital and stayed the WHOLE time for the whole surgery (how sweet!!). It was really nice. She also got me a card. I had lots of calls and texts to my mom, from my friends and wonderful family.

(A BIG mental alarm went off in my head when I remembered the warning the doctors and pamphlet gave me: Stay away from static electricity. I didn't say anything, just oohed and ahhed over the decor and then avoided the balloons to such an extent that Ian had to laugh because he observed it.)

Ian disappeared the second night with a piece of gauze wrap, for a few minutes. He reappeared with a teddy bear with gauze wrapped around its head. "Bionic Bear," Ian said as he gave it to me. I seriously smiled, even though my head throbbed when I did it. It all made me want to get more surgeries just for the care factor!

I remember getting scared though, because I was scared irrationally that Ian would leave out of nowhere, so I kept asking him not to go and I was just really drugged up at that time. Things seemed to swim around and I thought of

Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes...... (Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, -The Beatles)

I hated being tired and out of it- and FEELING slow. I could feel my mental reflexes stretching painfully slow- lazily and languidly. But the pain wasn't bad at all--- but I was definitely begging for medicine at some points. When my head would start to really hurt, I'd ask Ian, "Is it time for the medicine yet?" and usually it would be about 40 minutes before it was time for the next dose so the medicine worked and wore off pretty reliably. But, after using it Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, it stopped being an effective pain-reliever. I'm not sure why. I was taking Tylenol with the painkillers, which helped a LOT. My jaw hurt to open it too wide.

Nevertheless:

Monday: Operation at 1pm. It took about 3-4 hours, oddly. Then I was awake 40 minutes after they let my mom in the room. I had a really nice visit with my mom and Nick, a friend of mine that came to visit. I got a PB&J sandwich but felt a bit nauseous and not hungry, so I saved it. When I did eat it a hour later, it tasted GREAT but it ached to open my mouth too wide because it makes my ear move.

Tuesday: Left hospital at about 11am, got home about noon. Ian was there 20 minutes after I arrived home.

Wednesday: Walked a mile with Ian, to get some Starbucks and a movie and get out of the house! That was nice! Later on, walked to the gas station for energy drinks and doughnuts at night, with a refreshing cool breeze blowing on the shaved spot on my head the whole walk. We watched a really good movie.

Thursday: Seemed to take a turn- I was really happy about the day before. But today, I was just SO tired and kept falling asleep randomly during the day. That was when I started to get really annoyed with the medicine.

Friday: Didn't do much- went to sleep late after playing Mario Party 7 with my sisters, laughing a LOT, concocting an apple spice drink for all of us, and then eating a cup of noodles soup while watching a movie. I sent Ian an email from my laptop at about 8am! I didn't realize it was that late that I went to sleep. Oops. Then I slept 6-7 hours although it felt much longer. I took a LONG bath, with a newspaper and ... grape juice and pistachios (along with a cup to put the shells in!!) that my sister Kayla provided for me. Kayla dutifully tried, without anyone asking her to, to make sure I was taking my medicine on top of that. Yes, it was indeed a solitary party in the tub for me!! Then, I left to my dad's with my other sister later that day. We went on a walk.

So, I got the MOST rest when Ian was there :P I can't say thanks enough for cleaning the "sutures" and making sure I got rest and the medicines on time!! And those were the first 3 days after surgery---- I still continued to rest more than usual on Friday and Saturday though, but it wasn't really hard. You would think it would be more difficult but I've been lucky- pain management was really good and my head seems to be really healing cleanly and nicely.

It was really good how I would be woken up, even if I was deep asleep, to take my medicines. That was part of the pain management that really, I believe, contributed to me being able to be up and about so quickly. I stayed in the hospital overnight where they woke me up to give me medicine (it was hard to sleep though, sometimes. Very uncomfortable)- and then I had someone who set alarms on his cell phone to wake me up to give me medicine. I also had a piece of paper that had all the times for medicines listed, as not to miss any and to check them off. Organization is REALLY good and benefits everybody in the long run.

OPERATING ROOM

It wasn't as cold as they warned me it would be. It was filled with equipment which I gazed at with fascinated interest. It did creep me out the way the big doors slowly swung open automatically as two people wheeled me in. It was like being on a movie set, honestly. It didn't feel real because of the room being so big and there being people unmasked and just talking and cleaning up instead of all uniformed technicians ready to operate at the drop of a pin, as I had expected.

Before I got to the table, I began asking them if the audiologist would be there and I wanted to tell them not to shave a lot off, but didn't ask. They actually stopped moving me for a few minutes as they tried to decode what I was saying in my quiet voice and my sloppy handwriting due to laying down.

The bed was pushed up against a steel table. They told me to move over and I moved over, thinking it was a rather primitive way to transport me between beds, but hey, if it works, who's to complain?

The anesthesia was pushed through the tube right into my veins....it wasn't noticeable. It was a bit cold-feeling but that was all. Then, the anesthesiologist put on the mask and I said, "Wait! Stop!"

I wanted to ask if Tina, the audiologist, would be there to check the device was working or if ANYONE would check it before because I really don't want to get my head cracked open again if it doesn't work! For some reason, right now, after operation, I find it a silly worry. OF course they have had to check right? But at the time, I was just really worried that all that would be for nothing, all because someone assumed the implant's electrodes were functional and worked.

But, I couldn't find simple enough words to voice, so I asked for a paper and pen. Surprisingly, they were able to extract some from someone's pocket, and then it was discovered I had to write with my left hand (not my usual hand). So I attempted to write, with an IV in my other arm, laying in an operating room with people in masks surrounding me. I could feel the bemusement. Somebody kindly held the paper for me since it was moving. But I gave up after a minute and half and just said, "Never mind" and laid back down.

The anesthesiologist looked at me a moment. Poor guy probably thought I was going to interrupt him again. I stared straight ahead, determined not to let worries get to me and reminding myself they were professional competent staff that I trusted. I was still psyched and ready to rock n roll! I was really excited. Here I am, in the ACTUAL OPERATING ROOM. Whoo, here we go! I looked at the bright light straight ahead and the oxygen mask was put on me...... that was all I remember. I don't remember falling asleep. The IV was already hitting though when I was writing- I could feel it! It was funny because I was determined to fight it and I was winning.

You really have to just surrender to it though. I asked them while waiting to go in the OR what happened if I woke up during the operation or if I was awake and they didn't know it--- but that obviously didn't happen. And what made it easier to accept was knowing that I had to just let go to the anesthesia. It's funny though that the last thing I was looking at was a BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT.

It's a bit odd to me though that I really don't remember falling asleep. The bright white light, then the room I was in after surgery! I wonder, how did they transport me into the different bed? I really also wish they could've taken pictures. I wonder how much blood there was, if any. I can't wait to ask the surgeon this when I see him again!

The Surgery!

The morning started off as sort of a fiasco. I was worried my surgery would be canceled, because my mom was fighting traffic after a late start from her town to my boyfriend's town. The distance between both is about a hour long! My check-in time at the surgery pavilion (It sounds so fancy, "pavilion!" Like "Please head to the Surgery Pavilion, to get your head drilled into, which is next to the Fair Pavilion, next to the clowns and merry-go-round) was for 11am.

It was 10:40am. She was still not there. I paced, while trying to seem as though I wasn't pacing. The hospital is 30 minutes from my boyfriend's place, which I was staying at in-between moving to my summer housing and school housing, because my mom was gone in Vancouver, WA all weekend moving her new husband's things to her town.

I calmly turned on my hair straightener and grabbed my hairbrush after a sleepy Ian asked if I was ready, his eyebrows emphasizing the question.

I had slept VERY well. The bed was ridiculously comfortable. Its comfort was immediately noticed, even though I fought the allure of sleeping. I was too preoccupied with reading one of the Little House books (by Laura Ingalls Wilder).

I wanted to sleep with happy thoughts in my head, undisturbed by dreams. These books have always been really enjoyable to me- a time that was much simpler and where people did what they had to do which included the barest of essentials- hunting your own meal, cooking it, sewing clothes, and buying cows for milk and butter. I really wanted to post but all I would've had to say would have been, "I have surprisingly little feeling about this!" I WAS excited but also nervous... the IV? How would that go? How long would it all take? Would I get to see the operating room or be mostly out first? Will my face nerves be ok? (After I woke up, I IMMEDIATELY smiled and winked. Phew, all fine. I'd continue to do this at intervals through the whole stay.)

My mom arrived at 10:45 and there was a frantic rush to load everything into the car (including my things from the dorm! The picture is my dorm room, in the throes of being packed. Fortunately everything was in suitcases when we packed it!!)

My mom's car groaned down to the windows! I ran back into the house, turned off my straightener which I had almost forgotten was on! Pulling a brush through my hair quickly before pulling it into a ponytail, I applied some lip gloss afterwards. Then I ran!

There was some confusion about Ian, because I had thought he would ride home with us after the surgery, but he said he would drive. So my mom and him exchanged cell numbers and he withdrew into the darkness of his garage as my mom backed out into the bright sunshine of the day. He signed quickly, "I love you too! Good luck! I'll be praying for you!" I waved and happily settled back against my chair.

My mom, frantic, took the wrong turn. I directed her to the highway, and then we got onto the express lane, which TOTALLY went past the hospital/University of WA exit. Oh no! So, she cleverly maneuvered back while dialing numbers on her cell. She got ahold of somebody who said it was fine and that the surgery would still be on. Phew! So, we parked, chatting happily. My mom looked at me and asked, "Aren't you nervous? You don't seem to have ANY opinion but I keep saying to myself, you must be!" I shrugged. "I really don't think much of it.. I'm just glad it's finally the day. I'm more nervous about the IV than the surgery itself, almost." We laughed, the sound echoing in the garage. (This was something I never heard or realized until after the surgery!!) I realized I forgot my camera (an essential!!) so we headed to the car again. I grabbed my backpack and she didn't know I had "so much" which she would have to carry later (she was right), so we walked 10 feet back, and I grabbed only my makeup case, my camera, and a notebook.

Finally!! We got to the actual hospital. My mom observed how fancy the lobby of the parking garage was before the elevators swept us up to the second floor.

I bounced in, my mom walking behind. We went through the preliminary questions and I got my hospital bracelet and my allergy bracelet. (I'm allergic to amoxicillin, a form of penicillin. They don't use this in the operation at all, but it was a precaution.) Then we waited. It wasn't a long wait at all before they called us into the back room. It was all sterile, many rooms curtained, and I started to get a LITTLE nervous.

I had to pee in a cup, change into a hospital gown (oh so fashionable), and wait. Picture-taking occurred, much to my mom's amusement. ("My goodness, Tasha! You really are silly. That camera!") The anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself, then a doctor, then a nurse. Then MORE questions by the nurse on duty. The usual: "Do you feel ok today? When was the last time you ate?" etc. They took my blood pressure, and then my temperature which was normal. My mom was surprised and said so, because I usually have a high temperature whenever medical personnel take my temperature!

More waiting. Then, they came in with the IV supplies. I told them to do my upper arm, which I am pretty comfortable with because of giving blood. I hate the thought of a needle piercing the thin skin on top of my hand or on my wrist. It makes me shudder inwardly, and it had been a source of some of my worries! So, that was a relief they did the upper arm :) My mom took my camera and began snapping pictures! Thanks Mom! :D I was glad because I LOVE having "pictures for posterity," as the hospital staff was informed. I didn't even know my arm bled until I looked down, because I was too busy looking at the camera!

I began to get a bit nervous, which I was successfully concealing, until my mom caught an expression I made for a split moment and captured it forever on the camera. This is me looking.. well, nervous. "They're going to drill a hole in my head and cut my skin in a matter of MINUTES." Everybody was very nice. The interpreter they had provided for me was being really silly though because she was being overly pushy and I didn't want her in the operating room or ANYWHERE near it! I was lipreading most of the dialogue between everyone or preferring to use my mom, so we sent her away. She didn't seem happy at all and was really pushy about it until my mom and the nurse confronted her calmly and told her it was within my rights to not have an interpreter. I tried to ignore this ridiculous happening because after all, it was my first surgery!

A resident doctor discovered I still had my bra on, and he asked if it had metal in it. I wasn't sure and I had my IV in and a gown on and everything!! But oddly enough I had used the bra that has a bad strap, so it was easily untied and nothing was disturbed! PROVIDENCE! Yay!

They wheeled me away and I thought, "Time to rock n roll!"

AHH Let Me Out Of Here!!!

You would think my mom was the patient here, not me. She is dilly-dallying SO much. All I want to do is GET OUT OF HERE. It's already almost 11am, which feels late to me. I have eaten. I have sat in bed...BORED. I have even typed a blog and sent some emails!! I just want out of here... I can feel myself approaching that EDGE of grumpiness where I just want to cry and throw a tantrum if I don't get out of this blasted hospital. They are ready to let me out. My IV has been out for what seems like a hour.I have attempted to brush my hair. I have paced.

Somebody please call my mom and tell her to LET ME OUT, SERIOUSLY.

This is me being bored to death.

Also? I got the implant in my left ear as it turns out! So I could use my hearing aid (my ONLY one) in my right one! :D But will somebody tell me why it seems SO loud? My hearing aid is on volume 1 and I can still hear way too much.