The journey begins

The Journey Begins (Feb, 2004)

I began the journey with a visit to Debby Laprete, a cochlear implant audiologist at Ohio State University. Debby had me listen to a set of sentences and words, repeating back any that I understood. I didn't recognize a word, it was just noise. Debby replaced my ancient (18-20 years old) hearing aids with new, state of the art devices, but I still could not understand any of the words.

I then had a series of balance tests at OSU, where I sat in a chair and focused on moving lights on the wall. The technician blew warm and cool air into my ears to make me dizzy, and tested how well I responded to this. She warned me that many people get sick, so my Dad came with me to drive me back to his house afterward if needed. From this testing, we learned that I had good balance in both ears. If all of my balance was coming from one ear, then we would probably not want to place the implant in that ear.

Next on the agenda was a CAT scan, which I was able to have at the Smith Clinic here in Marion. The staff was very helpful, even giving me a copy of the CAT scan on a CD, in addition to the traditional films. I made a copy of the CD and had fun exploring the inside of my head. I was relieved to find that it was not completely hollow.

Finally, after the tests were complete, I met with Dr Bradley Welling at OSU. Dr Welling, a cochlear implant surgeon, reviewed the data and decided that I was a good candidate for an implant. With the enthusiastic support of my family, friends, and coworkers, I decided in March, 2004 to go for it.

I had spent much time debating which brand of implant I wanted to get. However, it turned out that the decision was already made for me, since both implant centers in Columbus only implant Nucleus brand devices. I had gone into the process with a bias in favor of Advanced Bionics implants, but after talking to many satisfied users of each brand, I decided that it was much more important to go with the implant that the surgeon and audiologist were most familiar with.

A Temporary Setback

After deciding that I was a good candidate for a cochlear implant, De Welling asked the insurance company for approval for the surgery. They declined, on the grounds that cochlear implants were specifically excluded from my insurance policy. This started a nine-month long cycle of appeals, finally concluding in approval shortly after New Year's Day, 2005. Getting the implant approved took a team effort on the part of my boss and the administrative team at the hospital where I work, and I'll always be grateful to them.

Setting a Date

Once the insurance approval came through, it was time to schedule a surgery date.

In January, 2005 Dr Welling was scheduling cases for March. Since we had a family vacation to Florida planned for the last week of March, I chose April 5th. However, in mid-March the manufacturer announced that they would be releasing a new model (called the Nucleus Freedom) in early April. Since this model would probably not be available to the surgeon on my surgery date, I elected to delay my surgery to the next available date, May 10th. I was excited about the new model, since it has many new features. I love to go on long bicycle rides, including week-long tours, so I really like the fact that the new device is relatively water-resistant While the nine month wait for insurance approval was frustrating, it turned into a blessing by enabling me to get the more advanced device.

We also tentatively scheduled my activation (the date that the device is turned on) for June 8th. This is 4 weeks after the surgery. There may still be too much swelling at this point, in which case we'll need to delay the activation for a week or two. I wanted to have the activation after 4 weeks, so that I'd have the device for a family trip to the ocean this summer.

As my surgery date approached, I focused on "clearing the decks" at work and home. I prepared in advance for a meeting that we'd have at work on my first day back, got the cupboards stocked with food, mowed the lawn, and stocked up on library books. I spent lots of time reading journals of other cochlear implant recipients, and browsing web sites. I also printed out a copy of a terrific list compiled by Denise Portis, titled Advice, Hints and Suggested "To-Do's" From Those Who've BEEN THERE. This included such helpful tips as "Wear a shirt to the hospital that buttons all the way down the front, so you won't have to try to pull it over your head after surgery."

Dozens of people told me that they were praying for my surgery to go well. That gave me confidence and a sense of calm as the big date neared.

Click here to read about the surgery, on page 3

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