The Other Ear
Since the recovery from the first CI, my family has been so busy enjoying it that I haven’t had (made) time to write. My how time flies. After about 8 months, we elected to have the second ear, which is currently deaf, implanted. One of the main reasons was so that our daughter would have a backup. Furthermore, the other bilateral families say that two implants makes a HUGE difference in their child(rens)’s ability to enjoy and respond to sound.
Yesterday, the day of surgery, we ended up getting lost on Hwy 98 west in Wake Forest, NC. I’ve driven that road a thousand times, but what used to be “drive straight all the way to Durham” turned into “hang a right just outside of Wake Forest” due to some construction. Instead of dodging work traffic, we ended up taking Falls of Neuse Rd. directly into rush hour traffic on a miserable, rainy morning. Hwy 540 was bumper-t0-bumper. I pulled over on the side of the road and called my brother to get him to pull up traffic on the internet. “Looks like there are two accidents ahead of you…” he said. Before he could finish, I hung up the phone and hit the gas to take Creedmoor Rd. back up to 98. It was truly the scenic route but at least we were rolling forward. We blazed into the UNC hospital just 15 minutes late, had prayer with our pastor, and watched the staff whisk our little 5 year old back into the outpatient area.
The surgery lasted about 2 hrs (they had scheduled it for 3) and we we discharged that afternoon with about 3 prescriptions: one for pain, one for nausea, and one for antibiotic. Once we made it home, I could tell that the stress was getting to us.
“Okay, I need to goto the pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled.” I said.
“After what happened last time we brought her home from surgery, I don’t want to be here alone with her. I’m scared.” my wife replied.
“Okay, fine. I’ll stay here and you go.” I proposed.
“No way, I’m not leaving my baby after she’s just had major surgery?!” she said.
Ultimately, I ended up hitting the pharmacy, the Chinese food place, and Sonic (great fountain drinks). I made it home just in time to see my daughter getting restless. Within 30 minutes or so, my little girl was vomiting on her bed. I had to support her head to keep it above the vomit so her compression bandage would not get soaking wet. Feeling the fluids run down my elbow, I knew at that moment what my next post would be for this blog. I need to write something about tips to help parents cope with this whole first 24 hrs post op thing.
“Honey,” I screamed, “she has thrown up on the bed and I need your help to keep it out of her hair.”
Finding myself holding the torch to the “Cochlear Implant Recovery Olympics” once again, I closed my eyes, put my game face on, and lip-synced to my little girl “Daddy’s here. Everything is going to be okay.”
Not really knowing what to expect, my wife thought the incision was much longer than she thought it would be, and I was surprised at how little hair was shaved from the area. Apparently, the surgeon will be giving us something to help remove the tape on day 10. We both agreed that everything looked really great. C-Note said that her scalp was sore to the touch and that it hurt inside her ear. We gave her two Tylenol meltaways to take the edge off the pain. There is still some puffiness in both cheeks, but we are extremely grateful for how nicely everything went today. 
She won’t let us turn on the light. What’s going on? First thing this morning, whether in the bedroom or the bathroom, C-Note wouldn’t let us turn any lights on. Instead, each room had to be dim, lit only by the tiny glow of a nightlight. “It’s too bright. My head really hurts.” 
At last, the swelling in her eye was going down, but it looked like some of it was crossing her nose bridge and making the other eye a tad puffy.
We were really amazed that C-Note kept her bandage on her head past day 1. The surgeon told us to try to keep it on her head until the following Sunday. “If she rolls over on her ear, the bandage will be there to cushion it.” he said.
Is it just me or does it look like her left eye is swelling? Within 2 hrs I would have no doubt in my mind. We put ice bags on her eye to help keep the swelling down and found that it helped a little. The ice actually helped more with the discoloration than the swelling. When the eye finally swelled shut, she started rubbing it with her hand, making the lower lid flaming red with irritation.
I expected tears. I expected grogginess. What I never expected was the level of nausea and dizziness that would render my little girl helpless.
"Hi. I'm Carina. What's your name?"
That's usually the first thing you hear when C-Note sees you. Her favorite past times are meeting new friends, hosting real and imaginary parties, and drawing pictures of everyone and everything, yourself included.
As C-Note's father, I stand in complete amazement of this young lady, who God has chosen to complete our family. As an adopted child with a hearing impairment, she experiences levels of joy that surpasses many who do not face similar challenges. A spunky kind of girl, she has also been affectionately nicknamed Wiggly, Jumping Jelly Bean, Wii Girl, and of course, our precious C-Note.