Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant
Green Light
The blind lead the blind for a reason, I guess. They go where they need to go even if they can’t see where that is. In the time it took for the light to change from red to green, the slim woman with the… Continue Reading “Green Light”
The Price I Paid
It hit me square in the face during lunch with a colleague. I’d given up so much to my hearing disability. Backed away from projects, steered clear of complex meetings, claimed I was too busy to work with anyone new. “I’m sorry but I’m not… Continue Reading “The Price I Paid”
Random Thursday
I’ve had to find some relief from being pissed off all the time. If I think about Hillary Clinton losing the election to Donald Trump, I have to regurgitate every single instance of being underestimated, patted on the head, and being told I was… Continue Reading “Random Thursday”
The Eventual Freedom of Not Belonging
The first time I ate dinner alone in a restaurant I had fettuccine in cream sauce with peas. There’s a name for that dish but I don’t remember it. I do remember holding a biography of Princess Diana on my lap, a hardcover book,… Continue Reading “The Eventual Freedom of Not Belonging”
Old Pony
When it’s windy, I can’t hear. It doesn’t bother me. It’s like going home again. Being in my own head, seeing what I see, being with other people but like strangers on a train. No one expects you to talk to strangers on a… Continue Reading “Old Pony”
The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of a Woman’s Ego
It’s the part they don’t tell you. Your ego will go out and come back in again a dozen times during your life. And each time you’re flat and ironed out, you will somehow magically become robust and vibrant. But there’s no predicting when… Continue Reading “The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of a Woman’s Ego”
Big Life Small Life
By the time I got my cochlear implant late last fall, my professional and social life had become a shadow of its former self. Severe hearing loss so constricted my communication that I could only relax when I was alone. After all, I could… Continue Reading “Big Life Small Life”
Come Back
It’s working but I’m not cured. In November, I had cochlear implant surgery. Basically, this means that I have a mechanical ear. What you see on the back of my head is the receiver/processor that sends signals through the curved wire to the circular… Continue Reading “Come Back”
Don’t Play on the Catapult
One thing I can tell you from my brief experience writing about catapults is that there are no decent pictures of catapults that truly depict the risk involved in messing around with one. The phrase “don’t play on the catapult” has been playing in… Continue Reading “Don’t Play on the Catapult”
The Bumpy Road to Recovery
Why the heck is he waving at me? My husband was sitting in a chair against the wall, holding his puffy parka and a bundle of newspapers that he’d read to pass the time during my 4-hour cochlear implant surgery. He waved again and… Continue Reading “The Bumpy Road to Recovery”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
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