How a Cochlear Implant works...

I found this on YouTube and thought it was an intresting way of showing how a Cochlear Implant really works!! Hope people find it interesting!!

Bonfire Wishes...

It's now half term so the school I volunteer at is closed! I have no plans whatsoever ha!
Lots going on with Halloween etc although I never really celebrate it... but I do enjoy the trick and treaters we get! There's not many young kids on my road now that celebrate Halloween so we dont get many! I am however really looking forward to Bonfire Night!! The fact I love about Halloween is that Bonfire Night is the week after. If you do not know what Bonfire Night is about and what it represents here is a link to show you what this annual celebration means.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night

I love the fact you can huddle up to someone, keep warm in the cold and watch the fireworks displays. I will be going to an organised firework display that is arranged by the police.
The firework display they do are fantastic! Although I go with my mum to the display, I cant help but wish I had someone special to share the moment with but ah well I'm sure it wont be long before I have some one to share my thoughts and dreams with and hold his hand while we walk down the street! Ah a girl can dream can't she!!! :0)

Worn out...

Since its half term next week at the school, I spent the last Friday there to help out. I was on reading duties today so every 5 minutes of reading with a pupil, they go back to class to get another pupil to read to me etc…

Sometimes I do the reading tasks in the classroom which can be a challenge as its noisy! I was in the staffroom today although there were still other teachers in there talking so I moved seats so that the pupil talk in to my LEFT ear because that’s which ear my cochlear implant is on therefore I hear the sounds better on that side in a noisy environment.

Hopefully, I’ll spend most of the week in bed coz I have been soooooooooo tired lately & keep dozing off!! I have been getting up early a lot lately what with volunteering and meeting friends! Not that I haven't enjoyed the volunteering and meeting my mates but I’m looking forward to a nice lie in!

Art week...

This week at the school I volunteer at, its art week! there's lots going on in different classes!

The class I help out were doing aboriginal painting which originates from Australia and I did one of my own plates with the class! To see it closer click on the picture!

I also watched another class do the Haka dance which was VERY loud! If you havent heard of the Haka dance then there's a link below that shows you what it is.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cle20lQg0Qs

Spooky Going ons...

What with Halloween looming, I couldn't not post this spooky picture of the pumpkin that my friend Ben created, how evil does it look!!! I also challenged him to make one with a cochlear implant so watch this space to see if he does and I'll put it as the main blog picture on the day of Halloween! (31st october) :-P

Mwah ha ha ha!

More pictures of the 1st cochlear implant journey...

These are pictures from my 1st Cochlear Implant when I was 9 years old in 1994

On the left is where I had my "special" cream & was just about to go for my operation. Below is me just back from the operation and sleeping it off...











Showing off my get well presents after waking up!















Below: Me with fellow cochlear implantee Laura! (yes 2 Lauras!!) She had her cochlear implant operation the day after mine and we made friends!

Newspaper Clippings...

These are articles that have been in my local paper about me. They are related to my cochlear implant and the condition I have. To look at the articles more closely click on the pictures.

This was a front page article with me when I was 8 pictured with my mum. We were enquiring for funding for my first cochlear implant.

This was a page 5 article when I got a laptop for a Christmas wish as I was nomminated by my mum.

Quiet & Noisy Enviroments...

I always hate it when I have to go somewhere noisy because I know I’m not going to be hearing the people I’m going there with. I always like to go to a nice quiet café or if there’s an upstairs to a building, I will go upstairs away from the noisy conversation and music blaring. I always take a friend to a quiet place if it’s up me or I’m going to have a good chat with them. My main friends always seem to pick noisy restaurants or we get placed on a table next to a kitchen with a lot of noisy clattering going on. I just find myself going quiet most of the night because I can’t hear a thing that’s going on which is a shame because when my friends all get together and we talk about what we have been getting up to & I always want to know what’s going on with them but I can’t hear a word they are saying because of background noise or they are all talking all at once so I can’t lip-read everyone. I can get the gist of what they are talking about if we were somewhere quiet and put my opinion in, but if we were in a noisy background place. I can’t even do that no matter how hard I try to focus on doing it!

If I can’t hear what a friend says or if they are at the far end of the table and I can’t hear what they are shouting, I sometimes give them my mobile and tell them to write it in text , then give it back to me so I know what they said or something they wanted to say. If the noisy places keep getting picked, I might have to start bringing a notepad with me so they can write stuff down!!! So that’s one my bad points of being deaf/having a cochlear implant which can be a shame because I don’t get to show off my personality and seem shy and quiet which I’m not on a one to one basis! I do let people know my concerns but it always seems to happen and it slips their mind while everything is going on or they think I am ok with listening with my cochlear implant

Cochlear implants can make you hear and give you the confidence to listen & use your speech but not the social interaction with people or group situations. I always tell a new person I’m deaf if I’m in a noisy place because the first place they go for is my ear to talk in to it and I need to see their face so I can lip-read. If it’s a quiet place with not much noise and a one to one basis or two people, I can be more confident and not have to tell them that I am deaf because I can hear them and know what they are talking about. I know some people can be surprised when I tell them in person that I’m deaf as they think my speech and hearing is good which is always a good side to a cochlear implant but it takes a good few years to get to that point but it’s all worth it!

Cold days...

The autumn days are here once again and now the cold days too! I have caught the common cold bug going round and experiencing tinnitus in my cochlear implant ear because of it but at least I’m getting a flu jab on Saturday!
I always get a flu jab at my doctors free of charge in autumn because I am prone to catch infections easily than most people. I was supposed to have it last Saturday but I had to make an appointment! I usually go with my dad too because he has diabetes Type 2.
I shall be back nice and fresh when I’ve got over my cold!!

Curious PEG...

I’ve had people ask about WHAT is a PEG? and WHY do I have it? What is it used for etc? so I have done a Q and A to answer any curiosity about it. It may look freaky, but it's nothing to be scared about. I was unsure about the decision to get a PEG and thought long and hard about it as I was 22 yrs old when I got it and who wants to lumbered with a tube coming out of their stomach but I felt I had to go for it in the hope that it might help me put some weight on and make some parts of me a bit better...

What is a PEG: PEG stands for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy shortened to PEG.
What is it used for: It is used for different kind of medical conditions where a person may not be able to eat or swallow for a short or long term period of time.

Why is it used: A PEG is used to help the person using it receive essential vitamins and nutrients that you may not get from not eating or because you can’t eat due to a medical condition.

Where a PEG is placed: A PEG can be used to in 2 different ways. For short term, a tube can be put down your nose and into your stomach which is put there by a doctor. For long term, it can be a tube put directly into your stomach through your stomach wall which is put there by surgery. I have had the nose tube in 2003 for a month & had it successfully taken out. I now have the PEG in my stomach and still eat with my mouthh too.

How long will I have it? It can depend on the person and the situation; a doctor would prefer you to have it as short a time as possible. I have had mine for a 16 months and it has done me the world of good what with my weight although I don’t know how long I will have it in for.
How am I fed: I can still eat by mouth and I get fed 2- 3 nights a week at the moment by a pump that pumps the liquid food in to my stomach through my PEG.

Does it hurt? The nose PEG can be uncomfortable when you have it put down your nose but after it’s in, you hardly feel it. The stomach PEG can be a little trickier as it is done by an operation so you can feel a bit of discomfort in your PEG area afterwards and because it’s an open wound, you can be vulnerable to little infections in the PEG area which can be a bit sore which are rare if you look after it. You are also aware that it’s a tube coming out of your stomach so if it catches on something, it can hurt. I always tuck mine in whatever trousers I have on! My feeding over night is ok too because I don’t feel anything.

Why was I give the PEG: My doctor suggested giving me a PEG because I wasn’t getting enough nutrition and vitamins because I’m a fussy eater due to the way I grew up and ate easier foods due to my mitochondrial condition and the possibility that it might help me put some weight on as at the time I was 6 stone. I’m now 8 stone.

How do I look after it: I look after it by flushing the PEG with sterile water with syringes I get from hospital every morning and night. I also flush my PEG before I put my feed pump on. I also keep the area of the PEG clean so I don't get infections.

What the PEG done for me: it has helped me gain 2 stone of weight and look much better in myself than I did (I’m now 8 stone)and it helped stop my occurring ear infection that I had for years.