CPR Class

I got my CPR & First Aid certificate today! I'm glad. The class was a bit annoying though, since it could have been compressed into 3 hours instead of the 9 hours it took! I finally just said, "Can I just take the test? I know this material already and don't want to review it." So they let me leave 45 minutes early and take the test but then I had to stay and wait! I wished I had just asked about taking it early earlier than I did! I got 100% though on both the written and the CPR skills test so I was really excited because it helped to know I CAN help someone if they ever need it.

This was something I wrote on my phone during a break.

We speak in nuances buried upon nuances. We never say something simply even if we believe we just said a simple statement.

We laughingly say, "You got me." Or we say with a note of awe, eyebrows raised slightly, "The sunset was beautiful." Rarely do we say something without at least betraying our emotions.

Yesterday, I was told I had an expressive face by a classmate. I didn't think that I did but I guess I do? And apparently, it helps classmates understand what my "verbal" tone is when the interpreters don't get it through aptly enough at times (even though their voice-interpreting may have been 100% correct.) How much do I betray that I am unaware of?

The class was held at the Hearing, Speech, and Deafness Center (HSDC) in Seattle. This was also where I went to the program PIP (parent-infant-program) with my parents as a baby. I mentioned that to someone who worked there (Karen?) and she gasped. She then excitedly led me through the remodeled building to a room I had a sensation of familiarity in. On the walls hung pictures and one of the pictures showed the 1989 PIP people. There I was, sitting on my father's lap. I was surprised to see they STILL had pictures from 19 years ago. Karen asked me if we could talk later, since she was interested in finding out what happened to the kids from PIP for follow-up studies. I asked how many children in the PIP program had cochlear implants or if those kids went to Children's for therapy and as a result didn't go to PIP. She said two children in the program had implants but were learning ASL (PIP teaches people ASL and assists with early-intervention). The rest weren't implanted. Cued speech (a system of representing a language's sounds/phonemes visually) was also occasionally taught there in addition to the various types of sign.

This struck a cord in me, thinking of children who could be speaking and being able to keep up with friends in groups in the future, who weren't. So later, I called the center and acquired the phone number and email of the director of PIP. I emailed her asking if I could speak to the parents there about my experiences growing up deaf, things that helped me, and my opinion of having a cochlear implant. I REALLY hope they allow me to speak there and this is definitely something I will pursue because I feel it is SO essential that those parents get all possible perspectives and understand how much a cochlear implant does but also how sign language is beneficial. I do understand it's a sticky situation because there is a lot of controversy and the fact these parents are already in PIP kind of suggests the route they're considering. I don't claim to know all the answers nor would I presume to, but I really think cochlear implants are THE way to fully ensure your child is involved in the world around them.

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.