On the day of my surgery, I had three good omens that all would go well.
The First:
For the last couple of months, I’ve been playing a game called ‘Spot the CI wearer’. The only rule to this game is that the CI wearer can’t be in the CI clinic waiting room or foyer – that doesn’t count. Up until the morning of the surgery, I was sitting on a score of ‘zero’.
I almost made it to ‘one’ last month, when I spied a guy with something colourful behind one of his ears. I got all excited until I realised, when he got closer, that it was a Mexican flag on a toothpick, tucked behind his ear – he’d just walked out of Taco Bill. (I almost gave myself a ‘negative one’ for that poor misinterpretation!) But on the morning of the surgery, our car stopped at some pedestrian lights on High Street. When I looked around to see who was crossing, I saw him: score = 1! The man crossing the road was wearing a CI, plain and clearly. I was so excited, thinking this was a very good omen indeed! If he had turned around and looked at the car at that point, I fear he would’ve seen someone with a stupid grin on her face, practically waving at him. I think my husband got nervous that I was about to leap right out of the car and high-five the guy!
The Second:
When we got to the hospital, we were directed to the ‘Francis’ wing. I couldn’t help remembering that St Francis is the ‘patron saint of the deaf’, so I was comforted by that thought too!
The Third:
The third, which is kind of the ‘first’ really, is the operation date itself: 18th March.
I consider the number 9 to be my lucky number in life. This number recurs in my life in forms of 1 & 8, 18 or 9. My husband and I met in 1999, on the 18th day of the ninth month of the year. We married on the 9th April, which I later discovered happens to be the 99th day of the year. When we won a holiday several years ago, the competition entry phone number was entirely made up of 1s, 8s and 9s. There are plenty of other things I’ve noticed in life, but these are the most interesting.
So was I happy to go with the 18th March as an operation date? Absolutely!
The 18th of March … OK, with switch-on looking to be about 2–3 weeks after that, and some Easter public holidays in there too. That means that, er … quite possibly … I’m looking at an April Fool’s Day switch-on!
How do I feel about April Fool’s Day?
Thinking back to when we set our wedding date, I recall how we considered doing it the weekend before, at one point, except for two things: the 2nd of April was the day of the Grand Prix. And the 1st April was, well, April Fool’s Day. Not happening!
I have a sense of humour, don’t get me wrong, and I laugh along at some of the biggest pranks in history: Italians growing spaghetti on trees? Come on, that’s great! And Big Ben going digital? Well … actually, that one I gasped at – you’ll know why if you’ve read my ‘long story’!
But this idea of fooling the gullible was a bit much to contend with on our wedding day – (me: ‘for better or worse’ … voice in my head: ‘ha, ha, April Fool! … Jase: ‘in sickness and in health’ …voice in his head: ‘ha, ha, April Fool!’)
To be faced with an April Fool’s Day switch-on? I only hope my audiologist can put aside any jokes for the day, because that would honestly be too cruel! (Audi: ‘can you hear my voice?’ … Me, close to tears: ‘No’ … Audi: ‘that’s because I haven’t turned it on yet, ha ha, April Fool!’)
(Liz, if you’re reading this, I truly don’t believe you’d be so cruel!)
I haven’t received my switch-on date, so I’m just rambling away here. I guess time will tell!
In the meantime, here are some 'Day 3' photos of the left and right ears. All looks pretty neat and tidy. (Thanks Dr Briggs!) Not much hair was shaved off, by the look of it. You might be able to notice a bit of swelling in front of the left ear, towards the cheeks, but it's pretty mild. (Nothing like the Prednisone face swelling from a while back!)
Will post some more 'ear' pics up on Thursday after the post-operative appointment. That's when the bandages come off (and I can wash my hair again - yay!) so we should be able to see the stitches then.
In the meantime, here are some 'Day 3' photos of the left and right ears. All looks pretty neat and tidy. (Thanks Dr Briggs!) Not much hair was shaved off, by the look of it. You might be able to notice a bit of swelling in front of the left ear, towards the cheeks, but it's pretty mild. (Nothing like the Prednisone face swelling from a while back!)
Will post some more 'ear' pics up on Thursday after the post-operative appointment. That's when the bandages come off (and I can wash my hair again - yay!) so we should be able to see the stitches then.
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