Back from Holland

I'm back! It was a gruelling trip frankly and both work wise as well as hearing wise it was quite difficult.

We were discussing things that are technical (IT related that is) and also complex. In addition, 2 of the people I was having conversations with have a habit of whispering and then all of a sudden raising their voices (leading to prodigious use of Program 3 - ADRO!) At the end of (long) days of meetings I was mentally exhausted. Tiring stuff!

Waiting for a plane..

I am alone at home right now, waiting for the taxi driver to come for me to take me to the airport for a flight to Munich.

When I was in Manchester last week, I contemplated on the change in my life since the first time I had been there. I even went back to the hospital again to take a quick look - thinking about the almost pathetic hope I held in my heart the first time I stepped in, the despair I felt the first time I left, and the joy and hope I got in my subsequent trip when I found out I was eligible to get the implant. I recalled the fear in my heart when I went in for surgery. I couldn't but help feel emotional when I recalled what we'd been through to get where I am now - myself, my wife, my daughter, my family.. what a struggle it had been and, when I went to the hotel where we dropped off my daughter before going to hospital I remembered the heartbreaking feeling of desolation I had when I left her. It all seems like another lifetime to me, but not a lifetime to be forgotten.

As I bade farewell to Manchester, in my heart I wondered whether I would ever be returning to this place, obviously hoping that I wouldn't from the point of view of surgery. At the same time, I felt an affinity, a bond with the town that will never be broken. I always felt that 'link' with Manchester as a Manchester United supporter but now, the bond is so much stronger and real. It is the place where my life changed, to one that I never believed possible.

Off to the airport now :) Malta-Munich!

My last assessment

I had my last assessment this week in Manchester. And it was an amazing proof that even though I'm not really conscious of the improvement, some changes are taking place.

Well, I first had a test which was a sentence being said in quiet. I scored 100%, this was just hearing, not with lip reading. The next involved listening to speech with noise 10 decibels lower. I got 96% correct and I'm convinced the 4% I got wrong were mostly related to the man's accent. Now, in December, I got 87% in this test and that was considered to be good. Another test I did wass with 5 decibels difference and I got (if I recall correctly) 85% correct. That was wonderful to hear. I was told that I am doing fantastically well (not that I needed to know this :) and this was tangible proof of my rate of improvement. I was so pleased. I also replaced the battery compartment thingy which had the flap come off a few weeks ago. I did notice the flap in this new battery holder seems to be more robust. Maybe other people have complained about it?
So, that's it in Manchester it seems. After a year and a half going backwards and forwards to Manchester, it seems that this is a chapter in my life that is now closed. I can barely believe it - 7 trips down the line, so much happened. I am so grateful to the wonderful, patient people who I got to meet while I was in Manchester - they are too many to mention and maybe they don't want to be mentioned publicly, but they know who they are, and I thank them (I also know they read this blog occasionally!). From now onwards, any appointments I have regarding my CI will be in Malta. A little less expense, perhaps!

Eurovision

For the first time, I got to listen to the Eurovision contest as opposed to watch it. For those who are not European the Eurovision is a song festival that most european countries participate in. It's a fascinating programme - the music tends to be terrible in general, and many of the costumes cheesy, some of the talent questionable, but it's great fun.

I really got to understand why it had a cult following in Malta especially. Our song, Vertigo, wasn't that bad - not particularly my favourite tune but still worthy of reaching the final, much better than other songs and, I felt, unfairly treated by the block voting of Eastern European countries. It was really fun though - even though some of the songs were terrible. An Israeli song was totally mad for instance - a short bloke prancing around the stage saying 'he's going to press the baaatooon' (pronounciation!!!!) is not my idea of music, nor is the ridiculous Ukrainian drag act.. but the Cypriot song at least deserved to get through. I'm hooked - even the commentary was cheesy and stupid but great fun!

Telephone use

I have realised that using the telephone tires me out in the same way lip reading used to. I have been using the phone at work for long periods of time recently - 3-4 hours in a day this week in fact and come home exhausted. I think the levels of concentration I use on the phone are more or less the same as when I used to lip read. Well, a bit less maybe because nowadays I also write (to take notes) or sometimes read emails or write them even!

From Hungary

I didn't have any time to post from Hungary, sorry! We had a wonderful holiday there. Budapest is a beautiful city - splendid, majestic and classically designed. The view from Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda side is something to be seen to be believed.

Alas, I didn't pick up a single word of Hungarian. Either because it's too different a language with no similar roots in any language that I know (for instance, I can broadly understand Spanish because of my knowledge of Italian), or possibly because it's an extremely tough language.

All in all a lovely experience.

Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed that the covering flap over the jack where the external accessories are plugged in, has finally come off. So now, in essence, my speech processor is not water resistant anymore. I did comment about the flimsy nature of the flap with the people over at Manchester when I got my implant in fact - and looks like I was right. So, alas, I don't know if I can take my implant to the beach, especially a sandy one, when the swimming season starts in a couple of weeks time here in Malta.