CI Conference Day 1

So, I got up shortly before 10:45 this morning. Funny, I get up before my vibrating alarm goes off. That's been happening every time I've set the alarm lately, get up before it goes off.

Anyway! I drive out to the Holiday Inn, and I was about half an hour early. So I hung around in the lobby, and bugged my mom on MSN messenger on my sidekick. The registration table was being set up while I hung around. Nancy caught sight of me and figured I was the Meghan she had been emailing with. We talked for a little bit, I got my name tagged, then waited near the front doors for my mom. She arrived, had to get her name tag made up (I got her registered for the conference, but I guess I registered her a bit late). This guy named C.J. was talking with one of the coordinators at the registration table. My mom asked me if I had recognized him. "No, am I supposed to?" "Well yeah, he was the very first one to test your hearing when you were little!" Mom got C.J.'s attention, and they got to talking. Once mom mentioned my name, he then remembered me. But I have no memories of him at all.

After talking with C.J. for a few minutes, we went into the room and sat down. Nancy started talking a little bit, then an employee from Rocky Mountain's Cochlear Corp. did her presentation on Cochlear's Freedom implants and the BAHA system. My mom was really interested, and I think she's learned some stuff she never knew before. I basically had already known a lot of the information she shared, just from the research I had done. I think! I had a hard enough time listening and making sense of what was being said. There were no interpreters and the microphone system just wasn't loud enough. Perhaps tomorrow I'll remember to bring my personal FM system and see if that makes a difference.

After the presentation, mom took off. Next coming up was the parent panel. During the break, I talked with Nancy a bit more, then I spoke with the Cochlear employee about finding funding resources for the cochlear implant. I told her of my situation and such, and yeah. Then I left to go to work.

Tomorrow Dr. Kelsall and Allison Biever from Rocky Mountain CI Center will be speaking. Hopefully there'll be some more information to learn from them tomorrow, including financial stuff. And perhaps my mom and I can speak with Dr. Kelsall during the break, as we didn't meet him when I was evaluated in September.