And now, the last one for today – I must update you on the state of my technology.  And I strongly encourage you to talk to your own audiologist about what’s out there for you!

As you may remember, Wonderful Audiologist went to a Business Convention back in the Spring.  The little “boots” made for the Siemens hearing aids didn’t work well with the FM system.  Siemens told Wonderful Audiologist they were coming out with a new controller in May and that would eliminate the need for the boots.

Sure enough, they did!  It’s called the “Mini-Tek” and it’s changed everything!  Not only does the FM system work now, it has Bluetooth and I can wirelessly connect to anything with Bluetooth.  That means my cell phone, my iPad, my computer, to name a few.

The FM works with an audio cable and brings in sounds from pretty much everything else I can think of. I even have a little tiny device that sends the TV sound into my hearing aids.

These devices can’t give me hearing I don’t have, particularly speech comprehension,  but bringing the sound right into my hearing aids and bypassing outside noise sure gives me a better shot at figuring sounds out. Even if I don’t understand what I’m hearing, I have the illusion of hearing things, which makes things more enjoyable.

Technology, have I told you lately that I love you?  And you, too, Darling Hubby and Wonderful Audiologist!  Thanks for being there and not giving up on me!

Guilderland Travel Plaza is a charming rest stop on the NY State Thruway at mile post 153 Eastbound.   Sitting between the Schenectady and Albany exits, it’s a great place to stop if you need gas, food, washrooms, or even a nice place to sit for a while.  It’s also the place I had one of the most magical experiences of my life.

Driving to New York with a cast up to my knee required a little more resting than we would usually do.  As we approached this rest stop, I knew I needed a break.  Darling Hubby got out the wheelchair and helped me into it so I could make my way to the ladies’ room.  (I didn’t want him to wheel me there because we won’t leave our precious pup alone in the car.)

“Piece of cake,” I thought. I know the rest stops have buttons to open the door for wheelchairs.  But before I could roll myself to the button, a young lady came running out and did it for me.  She was employed by the rest stop (McDonalds?) and she took the handles of the chair and pushed me all the way to the ladies’ room.  When I came out of the stall, she was waiting for me and pushed me over to the sink, even handing me paper towels.

I was so touched by this kindness, I wanted her to know how much I appreciated it. A tip wasn’t enough – I wanted her to know what it meant to me.  When I tried to thank her, she didn’t respond.  And then… it happened….

She gestured to me that she couldn’t hear.  Well, it’s been quite some time since Darling Hubby and I took American Sign Language and I thought I had forgotten it, but the next thing I knew I was back in Cody’s class and signed, “you deaf?”  That’s it – two little words and her face lit up like sun in the sky.  “Yes, yes,” she signed, her fist bobbing in front of her.

She wheeled me outside and I turned to face her.  We then “talked” for about 10 minutes in ASL, the highlight of my day, if not hers too.  She told me how much she enjoys working at the Guilderland Travel Plaza – how wonderful the people are to her, how grateful she is to be there.  And then she introduced me to her friend, who also works there – and is also deaf.  I introduced them to Darling Hubby and the four of us “chatted” a little bit more.

I thanked her again for her kindness and she thanked me for talking to her.  We all waved and smiled and felt good inside.  “God bless you,” was the last thing she signed to me and I truly felt he did. And as Darling Hubby pulled out of our parking space, I took a picture:

Stop at Guilderland if you’re anywhere near it.  Even when things are feeling overwhelming and hard, magic still happens.

Good grief!  Time goes by faster than I can keep up and now it’s another few months since I’ve written.  At this point apologizing is moot so I’ll just try to catch up.  The question is, should I do it in one long post or a few short ones?  Perhaps a few shorter ones so I can keep on topic.

Why haven’t I written?  That seems to be the place to start.  As I mentioned before, I’ve been having trouble with my eyes since my cataract surgery.  Unfortunately, sometimes there are people that have complications and I’m one of them.  note: *Please DO NOT let this make you afraid to have it if you need it. These things are rare and if you trust your doctor, don’t let my experience turn you off!

Turns out I ended up losing my close up vision. Too much magnification makes me dizzy so there are some things I can’t see even with the prescription reading glasses.  (I’m learning to ask people to tell me what the tiny things say.)  The computer falls into a gray area. Sometimes I can see it, sometimes I can’t.  I use email with a huge font now and I don’t read  books or magazines nearly as much as I used to.   But I will adapt – there’s really no other choice.

Anyway, that’s my reason for not writing for so long and that doesn’t even include the badly cut finger, broken ankle, bronchitis, and stomach flu I’ve been through – all in the same 10 days!

Three trips to the same ER in just over a week.  Poor Darling Hubby was getting weary of checking me in.  Advice to everyone:  Be careful with a mandoline (slicer), Don’t fall out of your house and break an ankle, and avoid stomach flus at all costs!

Ok, so much for where I’ve been.  Next blog coming up – the wonderful experience!