Rebecca Toft’s Cochlear Implant Experience

My Experience Of Having A Cochlear Implant.

If i didn’t have a cochlear implant, i wouldn’t even know the meaning of sound.

It all happened when i was born, when my parents was told that i failed my hearing screening at hospital. For the past of two years, i was unable to hear anything, not even voices of my parents and siblings. My parents did try and get me some hearing aids. However they wasn’t powerful enough and didnt work for me. some months went past…

On a random day, my parents received a phone call, from a doctor. Saying that there was a chance for me to hear for the first time… by having a cochlear implant. My parents was so relived and was   in joy of tears, knowing that one day i would able to hear their voices.

Weeks later, my mum took my brother and i to Southampton; The South of England Cochlear Implant Centre. To see if Cochlear implant was the right equipment to be used for me to hear and also to find out if it would work on my brother. Whilst we all were waiting in the waiting room, my mum read couple of books; what a Cochlear Implant was. And she got her hopes up and thinking that we both would able to hear for the first time… However she was wrong. It would only work on me, not my brother. My mum was just fell down to the floor; having lots of mixed emotions; ended up crying. Feeling happy for me but was heartbroken for my brother. Knowing that my brother would never able to hear beautiful sounds of creatures on the Earth. Not a single sound. The time went past.

I had to run through a lot of testings, before having the operation, there was 9 months just full of  appointments with lots of different doctors doing lots of researches on me such as, having brain scans.. after all of the appointments went past, my surgery was booked.

On the exciting scary day.. it was the day of me having the operation. We had to arrive there at 7am and went to the checkout. We were told to wait in the waiting room. With the clock ticking away, my mum was getting anxious and i just went off and played in the playing room; i didn’t know what was going on. Untill it was 12.00 noon, the nurse came to us, and said… its the time, and we followed her to the ward. The nurse gave my mum a gown for me to wear. So she had to undress me and dressed me in a gown. My mum was frightened and nervous. She then placed me onto the bed and kissed me on my forehead. A minute later, the doctors came in and wheeled me to the theatre with my hand holding to my mum’s hand. Whilst being wheeled down, i started to cry and wanted to be carried by mum. However it wasn’t aloud. Once we arrived into the theatre, there were at least 5 nurses, placing an oxgen mask on me, putting me to sleep. After i was put to sleep, my mum bursted into tears and was told that she had to leave. And then they wheeled me to the second theatre where the surgey was placed.

OPERATING ME….

It was half past five in the evening.,, When the doctors went to my mum and said that the operation went successfull and i would be out of the theatre once i was full awake.. My mum just sighed with a relive. She was over whelmed. It took me 30 minutes to be awake and then was out of the theatre.

They then brought me back to the ward. I was just drowsy and grizzly in the bed and wanted some juice. I had a bandage on my head and wasn’t allowed to take it off for three days. Meaning that i had to stay at the hospital for three days! However, the doctors were amazed how quickly i recovered as i was just playing around with toys in the room. As they said that i would of might needed to stay at the hospital for five days if i was still drowsy on the third day. But i recovered well by the second day and was aloud to go home on the following morning. But on the morning, they took my bangage off and checked how my scar was healing.

Once i arrived home, i acted normal and played with my toys as usual. I was happy. I didn’t feel a thing on my head.

We had to wait for 6 weeks for the switch on. (When my cochlear implant is activicated)…

6 weeks went past, we arrived again, at the south of England cochlear implant centre. I was sat on my mum’s lap… Once my cochlear implant was switched on, my mum talked to me “Rebecca… can you hear me baby” i then bursted into tears. It was the first sound i ever heard after two and a half years of silence.

By Rebecca Toft

P.S

A Video i made of my cochlear implant experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eRG3Jncplw