Again, agreed.

Purple Mari



At 03:01 AM 2/7/2008, you wrote:
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>"Hi Sharon
>
>I'll keep on praying.  I know you have a long way to go still, but, 
>I know, with God's help you will get through this.
>
>Cairie
>
> >>> Sharon Hooley <[log in to unmask]> 2008-02-07 02:59 >>>
>All right, guys,
>
>I've been waiting for someone in my family to review this special update,
>but I guess they can correct me if I'm wrong on any point.  So here it is:
>
>Third Sound Mapping, and Silence
>
>Posted February 6, 2008
>
>
>
>Well folks,
>
>
>
>On January 17, my niece took me to see Jenna again for my third
>
>sound mapping. As we were walking toward the clinic, the mother of the deaf
>
>little boy that Judy and I had befriended greeted us, telling us that he did
>
>well on his activation! Jenna gave me even more sound to work with, and
>
>created the four programs to send alternative kinds of stimuli, rather than
>
>to be progressive in the same type. Number 1 is what we thought was my
>
>favorite setting so far. Number 2 is an automated sensitivity adjuster that
>
>changes according to my environmental needs. Number 3 is called adro, which
>
>is an alternative setting to try in any situation. And number 4 has a lot
>
>of low pitches which, so far, I don't like. I'll have to play around with
>the others to see which ones I like best for a given environment.
>
>
>
>I can now communicate more without using my regular hearing aid, and I find
>
>that I'm able to recognize some sounds, and hear some voices beneath the
>bells and whistles, which often seems to be decreased, and vary more widely
>with the added stimulation I've been given! I also realize now that voices
>do indeed sound cartoonish, as some have described them. Voices that I would
>otherwise recognize can sound distorted. Since the settings are not perfect,
>
>or my brain isn't fully adjusted, I hear some things in what I can best
>
>describe as a bad machine language accent. If I ask how you're doing, and
>
>you say, "I'm doing okay," it can sound somewhat like, "I'm doing o kerr."
>Although music is often not very recognizable yet, I can sometimes hear the
>rhythmic jingling and tinkling as my system picks out the beat, etc. It got
>me thinking of just how complex our technological minds are; whatever it is
>that makes the music source play, and the things that make my electrodes
>stimulate to tap out the rhythm!
>
>
>
>When I first turn it on in the morning, the sounds are an awakening shocker,
>sort of like when you sleepily walk into the bathroom and douse your face in
>cold water. Otherwise, I don't remember any sounds driving me really crazy,
>though I did feel tired, at least once. The most annoying ones I can think
>of are when I've heard myself speaking high-pitched consonants that I hadn't
>heard much of in a long time, like, "Thisss nexxxt Sssattturrday" and the
>"er" sound when others speak. But I gladly welcome the high pitches, which
>give me the ability to hear speech, and the world, more clearly, and I aint
>goin back!
>
>
>
>I still often use my microphone system with my hearing aid I'd been using
>before, but for part of the time, I turn my microphone off and leave my
>hearing aid in the mode that only picks up sounds from that, and nothing
>else. That way, my brain gets more of a workout with the processor.
>
>
>
>I don't have to go in for another mapping session until next month,
>hopefully February 14, if I can get
>
>a ride. I hope we'll play around some more.
>
>
>
>After I finished my mapping session, my niece and I went to the hospital
>
>where my dad lay in the ICU ward, unable to speak. He'd gone in to have his
>
>second carotid artery cleaned out, but the doctors discovered a hematoma
>
>near the surgery site, so he went back under the scalpel to get part of it
>
>removed. As a result, he swelled up so much that he could not breathe
>
>entirely on his own. Thus he was languishing on a ventilator, with a tube
>
>down his throat and toward his airways. It was the next day when we dropped
>
>by, and I later returned home with Judy, and my mom, who has been staying at
>
>her house at night.
>
>I appreciate the fact that I am capable of choosing how I view any given
>circumstances. I see an inspirational, yet funny picture with the positive
>and negative events that have occurred simultaneously: Me getting my hearing
>improved so I can listen, as part of the communication process, and my dad
>being unable to speak to me, the other side of the communication process. It
>is crucial that we talk, and listen actively, to one another, in order to
>boost our sense of well-being, and to keep any kind of relationship alive
>and burning brightly!
>
>And that's the news for today.
>
>Sharon
>
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>2/6/2008 9:13 AM