Survivin' and Thrivin'

I've survived my first week of high school.

And I actually sort of liked it. I'm one of those weird people who needs (and loves) routine. The first day was relatively uneventful. I didn't get lost, and was able to get to my classes on time. I feel really lucky, things have worked out quite well (so far.) My schedule is GREAT (well, now that I've changed it twice). My classes are pretty close to each other, I have at least one good friend in each class, and I've never been late (or even almost late). I was originally assigned a bottom locker, but I didn't want to chance hitting my head and breaking an implant, so I requested to get it moved to a top locker. My new locker is on the opposite side of the school, and I was especially concerned because it didn't seem to be near any of my classes. It is actually somewhat close to two of my classes, which is pretty good when you consider that most people are only able to make it to their lockers once a day. The best part is, I got one of the sophomore lockers. While it's not any different than the freshman lockers, the people around my locker are SO nice. Last year, the kid whose locker was next to mine smelled questionably like smoke (I'm not going to jump to any conclusions... but this deaf girl has a pretty acute nose!) and was constantly cussing at me to get out of his way. The snooty girl who had a locker under mine always had her posse standing standing in front of my locker who REFUSED. TO MOVE. Passing periods were somewhat traumatic last year.So, it was such a nice surprise for people to instantly move out of my way if they see I'm trying to access my locker! And they actually SMILE! A little respect goes a long way.

Hearing-wise, things are great! At lunch, thanks to now being bilateral, I am able to follow most of the conversation with ease! It also makes it much easier to hear in the hallways. The FM is a HUGE help in my classes (I don't use it in the cafeteria because of spills and such), especially the larger ones where we get into groups often. One of my classes is a two-year class for those in the gifted program that is a mix of History, Humanities, and English. Since it's two years, there are also sophmores in my class and I get an AP History credit in addition to that an Honors English credit, which is pretty good. It's known for being really difficult, but also for being a lot of fun and the teachers are awesome. Apparently I'm in the "small" class (a mere 40 students!) On the first day, one of the teachers took a minute to quickly explain what the FM was, how it helped me, and that any time someone was speaking and I needed to hear it, they needed to speak into it. We then had to go around the room and tell things about the person sitting next to us, and the FM was passed to each person in the classroom before they could start speaking. This set a great precedent for the rest of the year, and already we have gotten into multiple groups and it has made it SO much easier on me. I am so grateful that my teacher did this, and he said it pretty eloquently and didn't make it seem like too big of a deal. Another thing that helped is the actual design of the FM. The SmartLink vaguely resembles a cellphone/TV remote/ iPod and doesn't seem quite as fragile as the Campus FM did. Everyone is comfortable just holding it up to their mouths like a microphone.

The second day I did have a problem where the FM died halfway through the day, even though it had been charging all night. I noticed a big difference when it wasn't working. The FM I am using is a temporary (and sort of old) loaner, and I will be getting a brand new SmartLink as soon as the order arrives. However,  on Wednesday I was given a backup SmartLink to use in case the other one dies again. It hasn't, and now I have two temporary FMs to keep up wit1h I do still get a little bit of static, but not enough to make me not want to use it. I am going to trial using the FM in my right ear one more time. I don't think the results will be any different, but we'll see

I haven't had too much homework, but I'm apparently taking 2 of the 3 most difficult classes at my school, so I guess that won't last long.

Well, that's all I've got to tell! This first week has been really great, and I hope the rest of the year is the same.

A New Sound+Another CI Moment

I pretty much never post about a "CI Moment" or new sounds that I hear, because after having my first implant for over two years, I've pretty much heard it all- or so I thought. Today I was sitting down eating a banana. Our house was relatively quiet (for once), and I became acutely aware of the delicate ripping sound you hear when peeling a banana. I peeled it just a little bit at a time just to enjoy it! I have probably had hundreds of bananas in the past couple of years, but I am left handed and usually hold the banana in my left hand while peeling it with my right. My left implant is still relatively new, so I can only assume that is why I am hearing it for the first time- too cool!

After getting this far along in typing this post, I saved it as a draft because I had some last minute back-to-school organizing to do. While in the middle of labeling my supplies, my phone started ringing (well,vibrating). It was one of my good friends, who I had mentioned in another post when she called me and I could not understand her at all. This time I understood every. single. word. I'm on a roll- two CI moments in one day! I'm really liking this new MAP! I might also add that this time I spoke to her using my new ear, rather than my older ear. While I did figure out how to use my cellphone with the FM via Bluetooth, (I have the Phonak Smartlink FM) I did not have the FM on when she called. I will have to try it out, though.


Well, starting tomorrow I am officially a freshman. I haven't "gotten sick" in the past 24 hours, so I'm hoping I will be fine tomorrow. Otherwise my first day would be a little too memorable! Cross your fingers!


I want to thank y'all for all of the comments and for those of you that voted in the poll. Keep 'em coming!

High School Starts Monday

And I have..

• lost my mind
  
• more pencils than I will ever use
  
• enough binders to last me through all four years of high school


• a big, ugly backpack (apparently in HS they don't wear colorful backpacks anymore..)


• a bundle of nervous energy


• a working FM


• some awesome new clothes and makeup (yay for tax-free weekend!)


• a new MAP so I can hear my best at school


• more batteries in stock than Energizer


• a cute new haircut


• met with all of my teachers that wanted to talk to me


• memorized my schedule and locker combination


• decided I'm going to enjoy myself and have a good year


• killed a good acre of trees with the amount of paper I bought
• added a poll to my blog to find out more about my readers (since you lurkers are so darn stubborn!)
  
• a stomach virus. Or some sort of digestive system issue. (for a week and counting...)
  
  

I'm just lucky like that.

It's That Time of Year Again- Main Subjects

See my post on Orchestra here. This is the letter I sent to all of my teachers in my core subjects, although I changed it slightly when I sent it to each teacher. I am taking two AP (the max offered) and the rest pre-AP classes, so this year should be fun. (ha!) I wanted to make sure I covered all my bases, so the email is somewhat lengthy. After sending this email, one of my teachers wrote me back telling me that there is a meeting about me scheduled for next week. I had requested to be present in this meeting, because I've found in the past they've never gotten the important points across (hence the email). So, as you can imagine, I'm not happy to find out from her that someone already scheduled a meeting about me. I mean, why am I the last one to know?! I haven't even heard from my Itinerant teacher of the deaf (not that she does much... or that I need her to, for that matter.) I did, however, pick up and test out my FM today. It works! (well, one one ear...)

Anyway, here's the email. Again, the ***ed out stuff is private and/or irrelevant.

Hi Ms. ***,

My name is L*** M*** and I am going to be in your ** period **** class. I wanted to let you know a few of things about me so that the year will run a bit more smoothly.

I wear a device called a Cochlear Implant in each ear. Rather than hearing naturally, I wear a microphone on the outside of my head that processes noise and then sends it to the implant in my head, which is then perceived as sound. With my cochlear implants, I can hear most sounds, they just aren't as clear and sound different to me than they do to you. Without my cochlear implants on, I am profoundly deaf.

I am completely oral and do not use (or know) any sign language. When you are speaking to me or the class, please try to talk in a somewhat loud and steady voice. I read lips, so I also need to have an unobstructed, lighted view of your face. I am constantly trying to fill in the blanks of what I didn't hear, so please try not to speak too fast! I also need to sit near wherever you usually stand while you are teaching, and it is also much easier for me to understand you and see your lips if you avoid pacing around the room. Please get my attention before you start speaking, because I may not notice at first that you are talking, and then miss the beginning of what you have said. If you are answering questions from students, please repeat the question back before answering it, because I often have trouble hearing students who are in various parts of the room. For example if John were to raise his hand and ask what page the homework is on, rather than just saying "Twenty four" say something along the lines of "The homework is on page twenty four." Otherwise I would have no idea what you meant when you said "twenty four" and it wouldn't do me much good!

I have the most trouble hearing through electronics, so if we are watching a video or listening to a tape, it must have captions. If not, I need a copy of notes with any important information that I need to know that was said. Legally, I cannot be tested on any sort of audio or video. Please also try to do your best to have a written copy of any instructions you give, whether it be on the board or on a piece of paper.

It is also especially hard for me to hear in noise, so if we ever have to break into smaller groups, it is much easier if I can work with my group outside in the hall, away from all the noise. If this is not possible, maybe we could work out an arrangement so I am in a part of the room that is quieter. I will do my best to remind you of this.

The last thing I wanted to let you know is that I use an FM system to help me hear a little bit better. I don't know if you have used this type of FM before, bu basically, you just have to hang a microphone around your neck, and your voice is wirelessly transmitted to my sound processors, so that it sounds a little bit louder to me. It's fairly easy to use, but I would be more than happy to come by **** [high school] today or Friday to show you how and explain it to you. It should only take a couple of minutes, but I would rather show you ahead of time, as it can get quite hectic on the first day of school (as I'm sure you already know!) Please let me know if there is a time you would like me to come.

Let me know if you have any questions at all, whether it be now or during the year. I am very comfortable talking about my hearing loss, and no one knows what I have trouble with better than I do!

Thank you!