Tag Archives: Cochlear Implant

Moving in…

May 9, 2013 By in ANSD, Auditory Neuropathy, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, Cochlear Implant, hearing loss Tags: , , 2 Comments

Well, we might as well…..

The amount of time we have spent in St. George’s Hospital over the past couple of months does make me wonder whether we would be better just taking up permanent residence. Three weeks ago Alice was in to have her second cochlear implant replaced. Sadly, annoyingly and frustratingly she had received one of the now ‘oh so famous’ dodgy batch of Cochlear N5 implants which was doomed to failure from the point it left the production line. Something to do with moisture permeating the hermetic seal and shorting the device. God bless her, Alice still persevered with it as it intermittently worked, but eventually gave up as it was driving her mad.

Textbook surgery. 2.5 hours in and out and another full insertion of all the electrodes and home the next day.  Thank you, yet again, Dr. David.

Mrs. Bump III:

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And tomorrow at 1300 Alice will be switched on again. For the third time. Less dramatic, no doubt, than the first two times, but rest-assured our hearts will still skip the same beat when we see her give us the thumbs-up and we know it has all been worth it. For anyone considering a second implant, whilst Alice has survived remarkably well these two and a half months since the implant first failed, I cannot tell you how much we long to have her with two ears again. She hears so much better and I can’t wait to not have to repeat myself so much….bless her.

This would all be straightforward and enough for one day if it weren’t for the fact that our dear little Ollie will also be bilaterally implanted tomorrow. At 0900 he will go into theatre, all one-year-and-20-days-old of him. He shouldn’t have to face this; he doesn’t have to face this. This is a choice we have made for him and one we stand by, but it is a choice we have made for him nonetheless. Alice is proof enough of how right we were to have her implanted. She is a joy, a wonder, our Angel. Ollie won’t know what is going on. he will just be wondering why he can’t have his breakfast and why he wakes up at 1500 tomorrow afternoon all bandaged up. Poor Mr. Bump. So while Ollie is in theatre, we will be downstairs watching Alice being returned to the world of bilateral hearing. There’s something poetic about it really.

Do spare a prayer and a thought for the little man tomorrow. He really is such a joy and we love him so. I really can’t tell you how much I long to hear his voice; to see him turn to me calling him and to hear the words that accompany his joy and frustration. Be careful what you wish for though; Alice never shuts up these days and does a nice line in bossing us all around.

How we long to be bossed around by little Ollie. we’ll keep you posted.

Our beautiful little man:

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“You Make Your Own Luck…”

April 8, 2013 By in ANSD, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder, Cochlear Implant, hearing loss Tags: , , 1 Comment

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard that in my life. Be it in business or in life in general, people constantly remind me that you can somehow change the course of events by simply trying harder, working smarter, being nicer or whatever it may be.

The fact of the matter is you don’t. It wouldn’t be luck would it? It would be reward. And herein lies the rub. Some people have good luck and others have bad luck. Mostly, we have a bit of both and, over the course of time, it evens out.

Right now it seems the Campbell family are stuck in one of the down times. One of those periods where things just don’t seem to go our way. At least that’s how it feels from the inside. I’m sorry to be all ‘glass-is-half-empty’ with you, but there are days when things get on top of you, get too much and you just need to have a good moan.

As you know, dear little Ollie was due to have his bilateral CI surgery on Friday. Not to be out-done, Alice is due to have her replacement surgery on her left side the week after. The astute amongst you will notice the subtle use of the word ‘was‘.

Ollie is a well boy. Rarely sick, and doesn’t seem to suffer the coughs and colds which take down the rest of the family. I can’t remember him being poorly in the last six months. How come, therefore, seven days before his surgery that he has waited 12 months for (remember we were promised it would be done before his first birthday which is next week) he goes down with the cold to end all colds? There is a constant stream of something green and unholy from his nose and he is not a happy boy.

Alice was at George’s this morning for her pre-op check-up and her Mummy asked the Registrar to check Ollie’s ears; all clear. Phew. Or so we thought. Three conversations and two telephone calls later, Ollie’s surgery is off. You just can’t take a risk with these things and the hidden inflammation from a cold mean surgery is too risky. The right call no doubt but you can’t imagine how frustrated and upset we all are. Our poor little boy will have to wait a couple more months (most likely) before he can hear the world and hear Mummy and Daddy tell him we love him.

You start to wonder when things will swing our way.

So the next time someone tells you ‘you make your own luck’, you have my permission to punch them on the nose.