The Bionic Woman - Sorta

[Karen J. Laubenstein]

It was the strangest feeling - reading this article someone wrote that seemed to be writing about me and my life growing up as a hearing person who couldn't hear (i.e., was Deaf) and even the stint in Africa in the Peace Corps! Lastly, was the experience of bionic ears and being able to really hear in a way hearing aids can never do. Several folks sent me the article - sheesh - wonder why? Then I learned the author, Josh Swiller, has a book coming out Sept. 7-UNHEARD: A MEMOIR OF DEAFNESS AND AFRICA. Now I really, really want to read this book! The New York Times published his article yesterday (8-5-07) that is really well written and describes what we do so perfectly, I almost felt exposed! The Washington Post also published an article by Josh where the first tv show he wanted to hear after his cochlear implant, was AMERICAN IDOL. (Wash. Post Turning up 'American Idol' June 14, 2006). Okayyy - there we diverge. I am not an "American Idol" fan. What I wanted to hear first was my son - my 6 year old - and it is still such a reeling experience to actually hear his voice!!! I made all my friends cry writing about it when it happened! The adventure of "Welcome to the Hearing World" or "Eerie Articles Written By Another Deafie-Becomes-Hearie" author, became compounded when I received an e-mail from a regular columnist at the Anchorage Daily News wanting to interview me this week... surprise! About becoming hearing! (Nice change from doing all the B'con stuff!) Okay... and an offer of a full scholarship this weekend at the Alaska Writer's Workshop (featuring James Alexander Thom and his wife, among others) ... which I'm still debating whether my hearing is good enough yet (surgery was just June 20th.. I'm taking baby steps in understanding words as I've never heard many of them before, and I'm only at 40% on the speech testing, although 100% of picking up sounds)... and also if we (family-DH and son and Dog) want to give up one of the few Alaska summer weekends left (sun is finally out after what feels like weeks of rain!) when it's Silver Salmon Derby time in Seward (ah, love fishing for those silvers!) and to be at Miller's Landing again on Resurrection Bay! Or to spend the time inside the Loussac Library with authors, agents, publishers, well... stay tuned. Not sure what I'll do yet. Did I mention getting rid of Deafness can be expensive? (gulping again-talk about your DEEPEST NIGHTMARES!) My surgery bills make me feel like the Bionic Woman reincarnated!??? It's not quite the $1 million it cost them to reconstruct most of their bodies, but just the hospital bill alone is $105,000.... gulp... and insurance has not yet decided whether or how much they will cover. They are still deciding whether my hearing was medically necessary. So here's some fodder for some great murder mysteries, eh? Did you know keyboards make noise? How about the sounds of someone padding in stocking feet on a carpet? I escape when I can into the forest or along the waters just to listen to the birds and how they all sound different and are communicating and finally I know, I really know!!! Because for most of my life, I did not. Having parakeets, zebra finch aviary, and cockatiels notwithstanding, I could NOT know. So what's up with you???