Surgery
These are the kinds of things we did to help us feel ready for surgery and recovery.
- Made sure she had a button up shirt to wear to-and-from the hospital. This was important because it would be very difficult to get a pull over shirt to go over the fairly large compression bandage on C-Note’s head.
- Updated C-Note’s immunization against meningitus. Our pediatrician called the surgeon’s office to confirm what would be appropriate. C was administered Prevnar as a shot.
- Stock-up on button up long sleeved pajamas. Although originally we thought that 2 outfits would be sufficient, we doubled that number in case of nausea or spilled medicine. Glad we did.
- Ordered a MedicAlert bracelet
- Bought a box of wipes. Although our child had been potty trained for quite some time, we thought it might be handy for sponge baths or tidy ups
- Made appointments for her mapping sessions so that I could request time off and so we could position any other appointments around them.
- Upgraded C-Note’s bed from a twin to a double bed so that Mommy could sleep beside her
- Bought some gauze tape to hold the head bandage in place in case C-Note started unwrapping it on day 1
- Voluntarily quarantined C-Note, actually the whole family, 2 weeks before the day of surgery. This meant no ballet, no church, no preschool, and no trips to Target/WalMart/mall. This also included no haircut at the beauty salon. Mommy actually cut C-Note’s hair at home after watching two videos on it on Youtube.
- Had a dress rehearsal, with medical garb, to prepare C-Note for the bandage, the hospital staff, and waking up without Mommy or Daddy nearby
- Reviewed a photo album that another family had prepared about their implant experience
- Reviewed the FDA product issues database for any product issues that all the CI manufacturers may be having
- Reviewed the Med-El website for information related to the internal components of the implant in case we had any questions on what would happen in surgery. This was helpful during our pre-op visit because the surgeon asked us to confirm our preference between two clinically equivalent options.
- Enrolled in apreschool that had a mix of hearing aid and cochlear implant children
Some of these preparations happened earlier than others, but when you realize have very little control you actually have over hearing loss, you try to do all you can to have some sense of control during this exciting but stressful point in your family’s life.
"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.