© 2007
Maurice's CI Story
I started on the journey of hearing loss when I was 18 months old and found what I thought was candy in my father's coat pocket.
Actually, it was quinine pills. Quinine was all they had to fight infection at that time. Of all things, my father had the quinine in his pocket to treat an infection in my sister's foot.
Years later, I found out that the American soldiers in Germany were given quinine water in World War l because they thought it was safer than the area water. Later, research of these soldiers showed that the quinine destroyed the hearing nerves. It started a progressive hearing loss.
I went through elementary, junior high and high school with a progressive hearing loss. I was the only one in my class of over 400 when I graduated with an admitted hearing loss. I wonder how many of my other friends had slight ones.
My father died the summer I graduated from high school. I went through college fast as long as the money held out. I made a bad marriage during that time that gave me my two children.
Divorced, and with two small children, I taught school for 10 years before I met a wonderful man. He was not looking for a wife, and I was not looking for a husband. We did have a lot in common, and after five years we decided to get married. This man had come back from World War II and decided to teach the hearing impaired. He knew how to rephrase to me when I did not understand him.
I continued to teach and raise my children, and suddenly my hearing took a nosedive, and I no longer had hearing. I tried to contact the wonderful ENT who had guided my journey, and can you believe that good man had retired. Doctors are not permitted to retire. But, with help, I called him at home, and his wife told us he was on a hunting trip. But when he came back, he called and gave me the name and number of his colleague who did my first surgery and, this last August, my bilateral surgery.
My first CI surgery was almost 12 years ago. I was in the hospital 2 days. My husband did not want me to have that surgery. He was so afraid something would go wrong, and I would have paralysis, or such. He said, "Maurice, you do so well. Why take a chance?" My surgeon called my husband and tried to help him understand that this was a great opportunity for me. He promised to send someone out every hour to tell my husband how the surgery was going, and he did. Within months, my husband was so glad that I had the surgery. It gave my life back to me.
For 11 years I enjoyed this implant. I started traveling by myself again. (My husband does not like to travel. He was a German war prisoner during World War II and promised himself that if he ever got back to the U.S.A. he would never leave again, and he has not.) I visited a lot of foreign countries and heard so well with this new gift of the cochlear implant.
I started hearing of people having bilateral implants, and even hearing better. I got to thinking about it. In February of 2005, my husband was in the hospital, and I went to the mall to find him some new pajamas. Five cars from the store I was going to, two women wanted information from me. As they got close, I realized they wanted my purse. This was on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. They were very high on drugs, and literally tried to pull my purse off my arm.
The good that came from this incident was that when I was in the emergency room and could not have an MRI, they did a CAT scan without the iodine. This was sent to my surgeon who did my first implant, to see if there was any damage to my implant. When I went to this surgeon, I asked about the bilateral surgery and, after a test with a hearing aid in my unimplanted ear showed I would probably hear better bilaterally, my surgeon's team helped me get clearance for the bilateral surgery. My first implant gave my life back to me. The second implant made it better.
After my bilateral implant, I went to chapel with my youngest grandson. He had just lost his other grandmother, and I did not get to go to the funeral. It was in Arkansas and I had an update on my CI that day. I took the maid who has known Tommy since before he was born and we were late getting there. They had moved the chapel service so by the time I got there, I did not get to sit by him. His teacher saw me and gave him the permission to break through the lines and come to see us. This is an 11 year old who will soon be ashamed to be seen with me. I used all the strategies on my processor. Working together, I could not believe what these strategies gave me. I did not hear it all, but I heard so much. After the service, I talked to the chapel teacher and the priest and was able to help them know my grandson had just lost his other grandmother.
After that meeting, I went on to another one of my meetings. I am a member of the Daughters of the War of 1812, also the Daughters of the American Revolution. At the meeting of the Daughters of the War of 1812, I heard the program for perhaps the first time ever. I told the maid in the bank building where we have the meetings, and all my friends. They cried with me. I did not hear all of it, but I heard so much that I had never heard before.
This is a journey of hope, and I think it is going to get better and better. I am an old woman. I was 76 on my last birthday. I think the younger people are going to get even more help from these implants.
Maurice Wilson