Twenty Things That Might Happen

cropped-11194608_10206510791434627_3787850486974186804_o.jpgIf all goes as planned, two weeks from now I’ll be recovering from cochlear implant surgery. I’m not crazy about the idea of having surgery and part of me worries that I’ve been hearing impaired so long it’s become a lifestyle, my own little deaf culture. “Maybe you’ll miss it,” someone said to me. I think about that and then I think about what could be different in my life if I could really hear better. Here are twenty things that come to mind.

  1. Having complicated conversations.
  2. Not always wanting to be alone.
  3. Having friendships with quiet people.
  4. Knowing where the siren is coming from.
  5. Being a student again.
  6. Talking to strangers to pass the time.
  7. Knowing how long the plane is delayed.
  8. Getting the joke.
  9. Recognizing songs on the car radio.
  10. Not guessing what people are saying.
  11. Actually caring what people are saying.
  12. Talking to my husband in the dark.
  13. Reclaiming what used to be mine.
  14. Talking to my daughter on the phone.
  15. Joking with my sons.
  16. Talking to a passenger while I’m driving.
  17. Understanding if someone in another room is saying yes or no.
  18. Getting out of my own head.
  19. Not having to steel myself.
  20. Being able.

If even a couple of these things happen, it would be amazing.

9 Comments on “Twenty Things That Might Happen

  1. Oh Jan, I hope all twenty of these things come true for you. You may not hear a pin drop, but you won’t give a shit about that when you’re just ‘able’ again. Good recovery wishes being sent your way!

  2. I can’t wait until all of those things come true & #21 = hearing the person in the front of the canoe!

  3. How long has it been since you could hear adequately, Jan? Your list seems like one that would convince anyone who needed it to have the surgery!! Good luck.

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