Friday, July 4, 2014

Near death experiences...and staying water proof

Happy Fourth of July!! The family decided we'd travel to the Nantahala River for a little white water rafting. Additional preparation is necessary when you are deaf.
I wanted to be sure my Neptune processor would stay on, so I ordered a snug headband from BolderBands. I put the headband on over the cable to my AquaMic.(headpiece that attaches via a magnet--brown thing in the picture).

In the picture, I have the processor clipped to the pony tail holder. The hubs suggested that might be sturdier/safer in case I fell out of the boat. (rolled eyes...I never fall out of the boat...) It's all nicely secured by my AB hat.

So, our group got ready to hit the river. It was a beautiful day in Bryson City...and we were all set to raft with Mom at Paddle Inn. We had a crowd: our three sons, two girlfriends, and the parents of one of the girls. Three in the group had never rafted before. The boys have gone quite a bit from scouting, and I've been a few times. Usually Steve and I go in a two person raft (called a double duck), but we went in the "all adult boat" today...a four person raft.
Paddle Inn is a great outfitter. Before they take you to the put in, the owner asks for God's protection over your group. It was a good thing she did that today.   

The people who take the time to read what I write are pretty astute; so at this point, you're probably already seeing the writing on the wall...so I'll cut to the chase. About 3/4 of the way down the river, we somehow didn't steer properly around a rock. We hit it sideways. First the girlfriend's dad fell out...(I thought, "oh no! that's terrible!!), then her mom ("oh, that water is going to be cold!"), then Steve and me ("We're all going in????"). The water is about 47 degrees. It's a dam controlled river and it's really cold. Really cold. I was able to hang onto the boat handle on the side with one hand and my paddle with the other. I remembered to keep my feet up and facing down stream. I was bounced around like...well, like a gal rafting in white water without a raft. I kept looking for a break in the waves (much of this river is pretty calm...not this area!). My aqua mic  was bouncing around like crazy...hear/not hear/hear/not hear. At one point, the only voice I could hear was my own pitiful one in my head saying "help me...someone help me!" Finally, the rapids calmed, and I was able to get to the shore and stand. I found some terra firma to plant my frigus tibus (cold butt) on. Hubs went to check on gf father, who was on his own piece of shore...The gf's mom was plucked from the river by my eldest son. I sat there on my little piece of real estate...cold, alone, and quite happy to be alive. My hat had flipped back, but didn't fall off because of the processor clipped to the pony tail holder (thanks, hubs). I reattached the UHP, put my headband and hat back on, and waited for the group to reassemble on the raft (yay for sound again! scary as heck being soundless during the bumpy ride!) Before long, we were on our way...a little worse for the wear--a few bruises, a little blood, and one less pair of eye glasses.   We got out at the place you can look at the last rapid (read: class 5 scary, I mean bad). With resignation, we got back in the raft and said, "Let's do this!!"
 So, we did:
              

Sunday, February 9, 2014

You matter.

One thing about this CI: I am not left out any more. I pretty much hear all the conversations. Sure, I miss a few things here and there, but for the most part, I'm back in the game. YAY! I truly feel like I have been given my life back. Everyone is not as lucky as me.

Hearing loss is so lonely! It's isolating. Sure, your family will probably make sure you understand what is going on...but even those who really love you grow weary of constantly repeating themselves and telling you what someone else said.

Here is a comment from another deaf person I know online: When we get told "it doesn't matter" often enough, we interpret it as "you don't matter," and this is one reason our self esteem is battered. What is sad is that most of the time it really doesn't matter, but we want, of course, the choice of deciding that for ourselves. So a second emotional battering occurs because we are not in control of our own decisions.

Do you know someone who struggles with hearing? What can you do to make communication easier? Here are some simple ideas:
  • Be sure the person with the hearing loss is paying attention before you start speaking.
  • Look at the person you are talking to. 
  • If you are in a group, talk one at a time.
  • Take your hand away from your mouth.
  • Repeat when asked, but consider rephrasing what you said. 
  • Say it again if necessary.
  • Never, ever say "it doesn't matter." It does; it really does.
Most of us would NEVER say "you don't matter" with our words. Don't say it with your actions, either.