Anything for C-Note

Activation Day

Posted on the November 9th, 2009 under CI by C-Note's Dad

What does Mommy sound like? “A duck,” she said, “Quack, quack, quack!”

What does Daddy sound like? “A wobot,” she said, straightening her forearms and moving them up-and-down mechanically.

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that today was C-Note’s big day. She told everyone at preschool that she would be getting her implant today. The thought of being able to hear electronically never really crossed her mind as anything of importance. All that really mattered was that her new ear would be red, just like the cardboard cutouts she picked during her recovery from surgery. The same cardboard cutouts that had become part of her new dress code for every stuffed animal in her possession. The same cardboard cutouts that would come to represent a certain kind of hope that perhaps only parents of a hearing impaired child could understand.

The activation of the Med-El CI itself only lasted 50 minutes, tops. Having been practically raised in a sound booth, C was no stranger to auditory testing. In this case, no soundbooth was necessary in that all of the sound would be occuring within the little cochlea of a little 4 year old girl. A small cord, dangling from my daughter’s implant, connected her to a computer. Beeps were sent from the PC, down the wire, and into C’s head one at a time, at different loudnesses, to help hone in on C’s upper and lower thresholds of comfort.

The remaining time was spent learning all the do’s and don’ts of the equipment. I’m really glad I leafed through the owner’s manual last week so that everything would not be brand new for me. Prior to the activation, my wife and I treated ourselves to some appetizers at the CheeseCake Factory while our daughter was in pre-school. It’s amazing what some cheese sticks, quesadillas, and chocolate cheesecake can do to take your mind off growing piles of medical bills. Considering that the only time we really get to go on a date is during IEPs and CI surgery, we thought we’d mix it up a bit and try something new.

While I was learning how to assemble/dissassemble the device, my wife was rapidly completing forms related to insurance, warranty, and marketing questions. As for C, she was eating a cupcake that her teacher brought her and playing with a toy fan that happened to be in the office from a competitor CI company.

The drive home was pretty uneventful. We’ve often heard that new CI wearers HATE the sound of road noise, but our daughter didn’t seem to mind. The Med-El welcome kit included a stuffed animal named Med-Elephant, a case for every subcomponent, a 3 ring binder, a red bag, a black mini-portfolio for ear stuff, and a toy organ that played animal noises whenever you pressed a key. It was kind of entertaining to hear chirping and baa-ing from a box in the cargo area with every turn of the SUV.

After C’s bath time, we spent the remainder of the evening learning about the cochlear implant by just seeing what it could and could not do. C-Note learned that the head magnet (aka coil) won’t stick to Mommy or Daddy’s head. Similarly, Mommy and Daddy learned that clapping hands (like restaurants do when singing a birthday song) doesn’t sound like hands clapping but more like “bing, bing, bing!”

All-in-all, this was a really good day for us. The hardest part was seeing C miss simple hearing questions that she used to nail with hearing aids. We know that’s part of the adjustment to the CI world but it was really tough to watch. The best part was hearing my wife say “I love you, Carina,” with her mouth covered by her hand and watching in utter amazement as my little girl smiled back and effortlessly said, “I love you too, Mommy.”

Although she wasn’t wearing her hearing aid at all at that moment, the smile on Carina’s face as she looked so beautifully back down at her play table will forever be emblazoned in my heart as something that I so needed to see before going to bed for the evening. It’s funny, my wife just commented that little C looks like she is smiling in her sleep. (C-Note always used to be extra happy at times when her hearing was doing well.) For lack of a better expression, I think we got one right tonight. Yes, I think we got one right.