Wednesday, August 16, 2006

another amazing moment

it was the middle of the day, nearing the end of the morning presentations. i sat in a room full of new faculty at the university, listening intently as the adorable little lady in the coral colored outfit described the wonderful benefits that i would be getting IF i filled out the stack of paperwork correctly. ainsley sat at my feet, under the table. occaisionally, i whispered back and forth with a colleague at my table. then it dawned on me........there i sat, with no assistive listening devices, no interpreters, no captioner, no nothing and i was getting it all. i was hearing all these new voices with very little effort. i could hear and understand even while i looked down at the paperwork being described. this was such a difference from the extremely negative experience that i had four years ago at orientation for new teaching assistants at UW. i remember how upset and frustrated i was because i absolutely could not understand anything without accommodations (which i had requested but not been provided). i burst into a spontaneous grin that surely stretched from ear to ear. i didn't cry, but i kinda wanted to. i'm sure that anyone who saw me at that moment would be quite puzzled by my sudden euphoria. more than a year has past since i had surgery for the cochlear implant. almost a year has passed since my activation and resulting awakening. most days i don't really consciously think about the fact that i'm hearing, but it's always just beneath the surface. it's such a good thing.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes it is. What a great feeling that must have been. (((Jac)))

Anonymous said...

I just cried for you....

UNK

OldLady Of The Hills said...

WOW! How fantastic! This has to be utterly thrilling...and no wonder you wanted to cry! Tears of Joy and the difference a year can make! I'm so happy for you Jac...!