(Ch. 37 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…) Sometime during the first week of my recovery, my brother and sister came into my room. They sat on the end of my bed and talked with me for a long time. They told me how, during my darkest nights, when things looked very grim, [...]

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Deaf, Deafhood, Family, Grief, Health, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Meaning, Miscellaneous, My Story, Support | 17 Comments »

Photo by: Xabier Martínez

Someone had bought me a new nightgown and robe to wear out to the car. I still had the hospital slippers on my feet, which were laid lightly on the wheelchair foot rests. The hot, dry, valley heat blasted me as I exited the hospital doors. The air was thick and heavy, not like the cool oxygen or temperature-controlled hospital air I had been breathing for 2 ½ weeks. My surroundings seemed so different. I felt like a newborn fresh out of the womb on her first drive home. Every sensation felt like a first.

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Deaf, Deafhood, Family, Grief, Health, Late-Deaf, Miscellaneous, Music, My Story, Support | 7 Comments »

(Ch. 33 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…)

Photo by: Alex Blandford

On the last day, while waiting for my doctor to sign the discharge papers, 4 of my closest male friends came to “sing” me out of the hospital. They were the boys from our high school Men’s Quartet. I had dated most of them at one time or another and we were all very close friends. They asked the nurses and the older lady healing from a broken arm who was now sharing my room, if it was okay to sing me a few tunes. Everyone agreed that their voices would be most welcome. I was happy to see them.

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Deaf, Deafhood, Grief, Health, Hearing Loss, Late-Deaf, Miscellaneous, Music, My Story, Support | 6 Comments »