Wendy's BAHA Pictures

[wendysig]

Hi everyone,

Here are the gorgeous pictures I promised you.  I just know you'll all  love my headwrap -- it is really quite lovely.     Did anyone else have one like mine or did Dr. Choe design it just for me?  If so, he certainly is gifted    I was surprised at how small the BAHA healing cap is.  I also expected to lose a lot more hair so I was quite impressed with how little he shaved off.  I think I actually dozed off for a few minutes as he was shaving my head.  I remember him telling me he was doing it and then I remember waking up and he was asking the nurse for a 10 blade.  I was awake for the rest of the surgery and found it  very interesting.  Of course, I only heard what was going on, I didn't see it.  Anyway, I look forward to your comments  -- I'm sure I'll get lots of complements!   

Wendy

[MAlegant]

Looking good Wendy, mighty good!

[Kaybo]

You are stylin'...however, I like to go for a little color with my wraps...   

K

[leapyrtwins]

Nice hat, Wendy    I'm with K, though.  A little color - say pink or red to match your robe - would have been more fashionable 

I always find it interesting the different things the docs do - like different hats.

My cap was the same as yours, but I had a square pink foam bandage between the abutment and the cap.  The cap actually held the bandage on and it was supposed to stay that way for 1 week.  The second time I showered post op, I pulled my shirt over my head and prompted removed this bandage    Since the bandage had dried blood on it neither of my kids would put it back on for me, so I had to go to the doctor's office and have him do it.  I felt like a complete idiot!

Like you, I was surprised by how little hair was removed from around my site - I thought there would be a huge bald spot and that isn't the case.

I also was surprised how close my abutment is to my skull.  Post op I had a square area of my head that was kind of sunken and the abutment seemed to stick out a lot (at least IMO).  With time, this sunken area "filled in" and my abutment became much closer to my head.

Jan

[Kaybo]

Jan~
While I do think that a colored bandage would add some zing, I was trying to be funny about all my colorful bruising!
 
K

[wendysig]

Hi everyone -
I'm glad you all enjoyed seeing my pictures, I knew you would! 

Thanks Marci and Donnallynn -- I just knew you would love my lovely hat and picture of my tiny BAHA healing cap!  I'm not sure I'm brave, just determined to get everything I can back.

K and Jan - As Lori said earlier -- I really am a fashionista (cool word Lori!!).  Actually I did have a little color under the healing cap -- the bandage was  actually yellow it just didn't peek out!  It was a sitting there like a little surprise when I knocked off the healing cap -- kind of like when you wear fancy          under a tee shirt and jeans.

K -- Funny zing about your colorful bruising.  You certainly were colorful!

Wendy

[LADavid]

Wendy -- Wired for sound! Yea!

[mimoore]

Neat O Wendy. Keep us posted. I like to hear (hehe) the progress as I am SSD and was thinking of a Transear, which is not available to us in Canada yet. You never know maybe a BAHA is in the future.
Michelle 

[wendysig]

Hi David -
Yes, I've got the wiring -- now I just have to wait 3 (whole!) months for the processor.  Now that the surgery is behind me I hope the next three months fly by!

Michele -- I know you've been planning to get a TransEar, but have you tried the BAHA demo?  It truly is amazing and convinced me it was what I wanted.  I know some people love their TranEars but I knew it was not for me.  The BAHA surgery sounded simple when I read about it and it was not bad, really.  The surgery took about an hour and there is really not much pain afterwards.  I've had a headache that has gotten increasingly better since Monday afternoon/evening and I have some mild jaw pain (the surgery involves cutting through the temporalis muscle which is a muscle used for chewing).   I used Vicodin Monday and Tuesday but nothing today.  Not bad at all.

Best wishes,
Wendy

[lori67]

Wendy -

I'm pretty sure your doctor gave you an original headwrap!  He may have a secret desire to be a fashion designer!

  I will have to find a picture of my bandage, which was definitely weird.  I had the little yellow bandage under the healing cap, but then over that I had about a 2 inch "envelope" of gauze which had cotton balls soaked in mineral oil in between the layers of gauze.  That was put over the healing cap and actually stitched to my head.  There's a post here somewhere about it looking like the string they use to tie up a cake box at the bakery. You couldn't even see it under my hair.  I was allowed to shower from the very first night, so each time the gauze got wet and then dried, it would shrink a little.  Once it was getting loose under the cake box string, he said I could either come in to have him remove it or just have James do it.  I guess I had it on for about a week and then I had James snip the strings and that was it - just the healing cap was left on until my next appointment.

He even gave me the healing cap - "just in case" I need it because he said you wouldn't believe what they actually charge for those things.  I'm not sure why I'd need it, but I guess it's a nice keepsake.     So, if any of you need a gently used healing cap, give me a call and we'll make a deal!   

Lori

[wendysig]

Hi Lori,
In reading about your healing cap it made me wonder if you could have it plated with gold and made into a necklace or charm for a bracelet. Maybe you could even have your name and date of your surgery engraved in it.   It certainly would be unique and would be a wonderful keepsake!  My niece has a friend who is  in the jewelry business (her family  has a booth in one of the big stores in the diamond district on E 47th Street in Manhattan) so I think I'll see if she can find out.  It might be the start of something big for that garage business you and Jan have talked about!

Wendy

[Kaybo]

Someone told me I should start a charm bracelet (sp?) with the eye weights I have collected - I have a gold one and a platinum one now!  You could go for that!!

K   

[Debbi]

Ah, Wendy, you trend-setter, you!  You could definitely open a sushi bar with that bonnet!  I'd be your first customer... 

Can't wait for show-n-tell on Saturday!

Debbi

[mimoore]

Hi Wendy,
I am not sure if we have the BAHA in Canada. I will check with my ENT. When I saw her intially she suggested the CROS. I need to do a bit more research.
Michelle 

[lori67]

Michelle -

Come on down to Nashville!  We've got BAHA's here!   

Wendy -

I think if we're going to start dealing with gold plating and jewels, we might need to find a nicer place than the garage!  Maybe a shed or something?  We want to maintain that "fancy" atmosphere!   

Lori