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My Journey into Deafhood: The Song of St. Barbara ~

Posted by LaRonda on August 1st, 2007

(Ch. 45 of my storyblog of my journey into Deafhood…)

My mother is truly the wind beneath my wings. She knew how hard it had been for me after I lost my hearing. She listened to my woes daily. In between college semesters, Mama decided to ask me to join her at a statewide Religious Education Conference in LA. The Catholic Church holds this grand, annual, weekend event to inspire, educate, and guide religious education volunteers and staff. My mother had been teaching CCD (Catholic religious education) classes for a year and thought it might be a good idea to get me involved as well. She knew my spirit needed tending. I accepted her invitation mostly because I was so hungry to be a part of a group again.

My Journey Into Deafhood: The Floodgates Opened ~

Posted by LaRonda on July 31st, 2007

(Ch. 44 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…)

One afternoon, about 6 months after I had lost my hearing, a former choir classmate called me on the phone. Her name was Rachel, and I admired her greatly. She was an extremely talented musician and songwriter. She could play piano, pen tunes, and sing like nobody’s business!

Photo by: “kk+”

By that time, I had exchanged our regular phone receiver for one with an amplifier on the handset to adjust the volume, but I still couldn’t hear well over the phone. I couldn’t wear my in-the-ear hearing aids while using the phone either because they would whistle with feedback when the receiver covered them. I had to take one of my hearing aids out and try using the phone amplifier at the highest volume, but speech was still too distorted for me to understand clearly without seeing the speaker’s lips. So Mama often got recruited to pick up the other phone from her room and bring it around to the one in the kitchen so she could orally interpret what the caller was saying.

My Journey Into Deafhood: If You Just Believe ~

Posted by LaRonda on July 30th, 2007

(Ch. 36 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…)

Photo by: “malik m.l. williams”

One day while recovering at home, my mother came into my room with a razor and a plastic bin of warm water and soap. She had come to shave my very, hairy legs! It had been a month or more since I had shaved them. Even though I knew she had done this many times to her patients, it was weird to have my mother shave my legs. I was amazed at how she could get my legs wet over the plastic bin, and not get a single drop of water on my bedding. As she smoothed the soapy water over my legs, she mentioned that one of my aunts had asked her if I might come to her home one evening that next week and meet some more people from her church who had been praying for me. These people had heard of my recovery and very much needed to see the result of their prayers and God’s miracle.

My Journey Into Deafhood: The Mirror ~

Posted by LaRonda on July 27th, 2007

(Ch. 29 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…)

Photo by: “Angelo”

I remember my Grandpa Ransom coming to see me in my recovery room. He asked me if there was anything he could do for me. I was starving for a donut (Geez!), having watched too many Winchell’s commercials from the silent TV in my hospital room, and I practically begged him to smuggle me in one. Grandpa laughed, waved his hand in the air and said, “Sheesh!” He told me he would bring me in something better, which got me all excited. Later, he brought me in a big basket of fruit, which wasn’t what I expected, but was good none-the-less, and I shared it with everyone. He knew what was good for me and I loved him for it.

My Journey Into Deafhood: The Sound of Silence ~

Posted by LaRonda on July 26th, 2007

(Ch. 28 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…)

Photo by: Ozge Gurer

After my final dialysis, I was moved from the ICU to a recovery room in another ward, and remained there for the next eleven days. It was within those first 24 to 48 hours in the recovery room that we all began to realize I had a significant hearing loss.

My Journey Into Deafhood: Thunderbird Rising ~

Posted by LaRonda on July 26th, 2007

(Ch. 27 of my story of my journey into Deafhood…)

When I woke again, my dad was gone and I was alone. However, I felt more alert than I had in days and I imagined I was finally getting better. I found my hospital guest book lying on the table beside my bed and I remembered Daddy had written in it. I picked it up and turned through the pages looking for his name and comments. I found him there on the last page. He wrote:

Photo by: “Angelo C.”

7-18-81
GOD LOVES YOU. I LOVE YOU. HAVE FAITH BECAUSE YOU’VE GOT A LOT OF LIVING TO DO. BE STRONG, THINK POSITIVE. NEVER GIVE UP. BESIDES IF I’VE EVER NEEDED YOU, I NEED YOU NOW. I NEED THE STRENGTH YOU HAVE SHOWN EVERYONE SINCE YOU’VE BEEN HERE. I KNOW
YOU CAN MAKE IT, YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU ARE A “CA$H & CO.” SO GET HOT! I LOVE YOU TO THE BONES.
DAD $

My Journey Into Deafhood: The Man In The Mask ~

Posted by LaRonda on July 26th, 2007

(Ch. 26 of my story of how I became deaf…)

I’m not sure how much time had passed when I awoke next, but Mama was there telling me my Daddy was here at the hospital to see me. She asked me if I would like to see him. Mama and Daddy had been divorced for 7 years. I had not seen my father for a very long time. He lived in a different town and he was pretty much removed from our lives. I learned later that this was actually his second visit to the hospital. I was unaware of our first reunion.

Photo by: “Kat”

So now, my father was here again. I was stunned, yet happy. ‘Daddy! My Daddy’s here!’ my inner-child shouted out. I smiled. But I knew by the fact that he was even there, that my condition had to be life-threatening. We just never saw him. It made me sad and fearful at this realization. But I shook my head yes, indicating that I wanted to see my father, and Mama disappeared to go get him.