It is the last meeting with the surgeon.
Here we go… *deep breathe*

You think I might be able to breathe easy since I just discovered the balance test wasn’t a “make or break it” test for qualifying for the surgery…

However, I was still a bundle of nerves. This was it!

The surgeon entered.

MRI. Check. CT Scan. Check.

Proof of Meningitis Shots. Silence…
“I had faxed them in, but here,” I said, handing him the original.

I sat there as he verified the scans, showing that I had a clear path in the cochlea for the electrode array to enter during surgery. A common thing with advanced and aggressive Otosclerosis is for the cochlea to fill with excessive spongy-like bone growth.

Side note: I may write “a common thing”, however advanced and aggressive Otosclerosis is incredibly rare and Otosclerosis peeps will rarely ever sit in this chair I am in now discussing Cochlear Implants.

Balance test results:

My left ear wasn’t tested for balance properly, so we discussed the thin ear drum. I was told the dangers of having a thin eardrum with having a foreign body (i.e., cochlear implant) inside my head on that side.

So the good news is that the balance test is usually only to help decide which ear to operate on. For me, it was a clear choice – the left ear. It is the non-working ear AND the side with the worst balance.

Dr. Chen said “…And If you get a lot of ear infections we might need to remove all of the small bones and close off the eardrum so that there is NO RISK of affecting the foreign body.”

I simply said: “I don’t get a lot of infections.”… He says, “Statistically people with Otosclerosis don’t get a lot of ear infections. I am not sure why that is.”

I think, in conclusion, that means that my middle ear will remain intact for now…….

You make an excellent candidate! Here is what I want you to do:

The doctor’s last words, and with many words, expressed the lack of funding for the Cochlear Implant Program at Sunnybrook. He asked me to write my MPP, Christine Elliott, and Doug Ford.

He wrote an outline, names, and details on a prescription paper to take home as homework.

My thoughts: I would prefer not to place a spotlight on programs while the Provincial Government is in the process of making massive cuts… But I SHOULD do something. I crafted my story carefully and mailed letters to both my MPP and Christine Elliot.