Wednesday 3 December 2014

A tribute to Hilda Gregory

Hilda Gregory, the former principal for the Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children (now known as Children's Hearing and Speech Centre of BC), recently passed away. Hilda is a 1998 Order of BC recipient, as well as a 1999 Order of Canada recipient. She also volunteered countless hours at Christ Church Cathedral and at Jubilee House. Not only is she a tireless advocate for those that require extra assistance, she is a remarkable lady who has been a part of my childhood and adult life.


Below is an open letter of thanks that I hope will inspire others to reflect on those that have had a meaningful impact on their lives. After all, we cannot get through life all by ourselves.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

When squeaks and creaks actually matter to a HOH

The creaks and squeaks of my floor actually don't annoy me. They are a constant reminder that I can actually hear these seemingly trivial sounds.

My girl loves our squeaky hardwood floors!

From my perspective, trivial sounds are God's way of letting you know that your hearing is just fine - and that you've been blessed with a wonderful gift. So, to those who have perfectly normal hearing, and those who use assistive devices:

The next time you hear the creaking or a squeaking of the floor, be thankful.

Saturday 22 November 2014

Blast from the Past!

Last week, I received a message from a friend of ours who was attending a conference in Strasbourg, France. She wrote to say that she saw a video with me, my future-husband to be, and our best man at the conference. 

I'll give you a little background information - we made this video, aptly called HOH TV in a fun endeavor to raise awareness of hearing loss as part of our involvement with the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association's Young Adult Network. This video was created in May of 2009 (I think) and goes to prove that once you put something online, it's VERY hard to remove it! (not that I'm complaining... I'm just saying)

So without ado, here's the video - and I'll be honest, I cringe at the scene where I sing. Proof that HOHs shouldn't be allowed to sing!

P.S. - To Rachel: this proves that mommy and daddy DO have a sense of humor!!!
 




Friday 14 November 2014

Can you put your phone down?

In the last 10 years, with more and more people using smartphones, it appears that antisocialism is on the rise. It is very rare for me to go out and not see someone on their phone(s) -plural because reality is, quite a few people now have one, two, maybe even three phones!


I confess that I'm sometimes one of those people. Messaging friends on Facebook, WhatsApp, and texting is now normal for me. To some, I probably appear antisocial. 

Not quite.

Wednesday 22 October 2014

What a HOH rant might look like

When I started driving as a teenager, I used to get the odd comment here and there: "you can drive? Oh my! How do you do it??" (Answer: like any other normal person would...put my seat belt on, turn the ignition on, and press my foot on the pedal). I just have a hearing loss. I'm not stupid. I'm not that handicapped. I'm normal.



Tuesday 7 October 2014

Tea Time

A close friend of mine sent me an email saying that she's going through some pretty major transitions in her life. She just got married, relocated to a different part of Canada, and so much more.  My friend doesn't have a hearing loss, but thought it would be a good idea for me to share my experiences (as they are relatively similar). I'm hoping this post will help others out there struggling with life changes, because well, any change is never easy. This applies to everyone, not just those with a hearing loss.

Wednesday 1 October 2014

A HOH goes to Church

I'm definitely a blessed mama, even if life doesn't always seem that way.


Having a hearing loss and going to church is another challenge, given that there isn't ample funding for captioning or a loop system at most churches. In fact, from time to time, people will ask me if I actually understand anything that's being said during the homily, which varies at each mass.  Often, when I was younger, I would ask my parents what was said. Unfortunately that method isn't sustainable!
 

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Another Hard of Hearing Mommy :)

Gael Hannan, writer, actress, public speaker, and dear family friend is one of the few hard of hearing mommies that I have come to respect and admire. When I first met Gael back in 2008, at the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association/International Federation of Hard of Hearing People Congress I heard her one-woman show Ear Rage, and was instantly captivated by her unique charm. Hearing loss is a passion and a career for Gael.


This photo captures Gael's personality! (Photo courtesy of Google)

Monday 15 September 2014

Live and Let Hear: Hearing Protection for All

You only get one shot at good hearing. From the day that we're born, we're given a supply of hair cells in our cochlear to last us a lifetime.


Awesome to have, but once they're gone, they're gone.
Even with what little hearing I have (most of my cochlear hair cells are damaged, save for a few), my mom was always very keen on ear protection. I remember her pulling me out of competitive swimming because I was getting way too many ear infections, she wouldn't let me do gymnastics for fear that I'd bang my head, and more.

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Immunizations and Hearing Loss: Our Story

Three weeks ago, I received an email from a fellow mommy friend, Bonnie. Bonnie also runs a blog and asked me to write about how I lost my hearing, and my life as a mommy in general. She recently posted my article on her blog. Bonnie also encouraged me to write about immunizations and how it has impacted our lives.  Our discussion on vaccinations started way back in March - when I first started attending the Moms and Tots group at St. Patrick's Parish (a wonderful, wonderful source of knowledge considering these moms are amazing).

First off, I'll reiterate what I wrote in my pilot post - my opinions are my opinions, and they are not intended to belittle other perspectives. This is quite simply, our personal experience after contracting a virus (where we were the unlucky ones, not getting off scot-free).  

Saturday 30 August 2014

The Renewal Obstruction: Internet Providers

It's that time where your TV/Internet package has expired. We're self-proclaimed TV bugs, often watching shows on NetFlix. I call this Renewal time! (and I'm saying this sarcastically)

Recently, our 1-year promo package from service-provider-who-shall-remain-unnamed (as I'm not going to endorse anyone at this point) expired (free TV plus discounted internet... awesome deal!). We renewed our internet package, but not the TV package. Unfortunately they mistakenly turned off our internet as well. Grr.

Tuesday 26 August 2014

I'm grateful to have a hearing loss! 35 Things to be thankful for...

If you're on Facebook, you've noticed people doing the 7 day gratitude challenge, where they list 3 things they're grateful for in their lives. I naturally did this challenge, as it aligned perfectly with my goal of be positive in my last year of my 20's. 

This gratitude challenge will focus on being a hard of hearing person/mommy. :) In no particular order:
Always smiling! A happy baby makes for a happy mommy!

Monday 18 August 2014

4 Weddings and A Hearing Loss Fail


This summer, we attended 4 weddings (no funeral...knock on wood). Each one of them different, but ultimately the newlyweds demonstrated true, undying love for each other. Weddings are insanely fun - from the ceremony all the way to the reception (I especially love eating and drinking at weddings, because that's how I show my joy for them). My feet might hurt in my new wedge heels (4 inches, no less! I am VERY short), but the most annoying part about attending weddings is not being able to understand the speeches...

Sunday 27 July 2014

The cost of being hard of hearing (and a parent!!!)

While on our second camping vacation of the year, no less at the amazing Rathtrevor Beach (Parksville, BC) - it suddenly dawned on me, being hard of hearing is a huge expense in itself! Not just for our parents when growing up (thank you mom and dad!), but even now, as an adult. Parenting often comes with added expenses - a bassinet, a crib, high chair, rocking chair, change table pads, diapers, diapers, diapers, wipes, bottles (if you're formula feeding), soothers, a pack n' play, car seat, stroller, clothes (aren't they the cutest!?), and other paraphernalia that I've failed to list.  Thank God we have a great medical plan.

Sunday 20 July 2014

Benefits of being a hard of hearing mommy

You may be wondering by now "That's tough, being a mommy and hard of hearing". Yes, it can be challenging, but it can also be a good thing. Since my birthday came and arrived a few days ago (363 more days until I hit the big 3-0), I've decided to take a positive spin on my life so far. Then I thought, why not compile a list of the benefits of being a hard of hearing mommy? Some of you might find it funny, or even insightful. We often take our abilities for granted.

In no particular order, these are some of the benefits:
  • If I really need a break from all the screams, I can just take off my Cochlear Implant (CI) off and have complete silence. A break for the brain.
  • When changing Rachel's diapers in the middle of the night (she absolutely hates getting her diapers changed then), I don't have to hear her ear-piercing screams (I can tell just by how red her face gets that it's pretty LOUD).
    My screaming baby girl! (this was when she was only a day old)

Thursday 17 July 2014

Strawberry Festival

Strawberries and ice cream. YUM. What more can a girl ask for?
One of my favorite fruits!

Roughin' it out: Camping


I'll be the first to admit it, I didn't grow up camping. My parents didn't really care much for it (instead, we did super exotic trips abroad... another story for another time), and the only experience that I had camping was going with my aunt and cousins when I was 10 years old. They took me twice, and then... *long pause* I went again in 2010, this time at the age of 25. The 15 year no-camping period made me a pampered princess, perhaps almost afraid of getting dirty. Had my husband not been such a great camper and former boy-scout, I don't think I would have gotten back into camping quite so well. It's a wonderful challenge, for the following reasons:

Wednesday 16 July 2014

How we wake up at night (Part 2)

If you personally know me, you would know that my husband and I love to travel whenever we can. In fact, before we got married we actually had to *test* the waters out as travelers (Too many friendships can get ruined just by going on vacation... and don't worry, we had separate rooms) by going to the International Federation of Hard of Hearing Young People's (IFHOHYP) Summercamp, in Fiesch, Switzerland (we did a quick tour of London, Vienna, Venice and Zurich on the side too).  Fortunately for us, we only had one minor disagreement - in Venice, we both argued on what would be the best way to get back to the hotel (turns out we were BOTH right... what are the odds!?!).

Saturday 12 July 2014

How we wake up at night (Part 1)

Since introducing The Hard of Hearing Mommy Blog, we have been flooded with several emails as to how exactly we wake up at night when Rachel's crying. It's a wonderful world that we live in, especially since technology wasn't available to us a mere 20 years ago!

I'll answer everyone's big burning question in two parts: part one will cover our wake up system at home, and part two will look at what we do when we're on the road/traveling (as our home system isn't completely portable). Two different strategies, and we hope they'll work for you and for others in the future (or, *nudge nudge* for manufacturers to consider making a baby monitor SPECIFICALLY for those who are hard of hearing!).

Monday 7 July 2014

Fears for the Future

This post will be a bit different. I thought it would be interesting to list down a few of my fears for the future... and then maybe one day I'll go back to this list and see if those fears ever materialize!

Quiet Time

Nowadays, quiet time is the only time during the day that I have to myself, 100%. Ironically, I can have quiet time whenever I like to - when I take out my cochlear implant processor. Sounds are turned off in an instant. The hustle and bustle of noise becomes pure silence. However idyllic that sounds, it isn't quite so. My brain doesn't really stop working, and sometimes I think I still hear sounds without the help of my hearing devices! (or, I have a really active imagination).

Friday 4 July 2014

Ambition

Before Rachel's arrival, I was working for the Provincial Government. The pay was excellent, the job was great (although there were times when I wanted to pull my hair out), and the people were relatively easy to work with. I was about 10 weeks pregnant when my contract expired - at that point I had two options,

Pilot

Hello, Salut, Hej, Shalom, Konichiwa, Ola!

Welcome to my blog. My name is Monique, and I'm a mommy to a beautiful seven month old girl named Rachel. For all intents and purposes, this blog is meant for me to chronicle my daily experiences as a hard of hearing mommy. It isn't meant to contain all-encompassing knowledge, or be a source of ridicule (for whatever I may write in the future). It is simply a heart-to-heart discussion on paper. Most mommies understand the need for a cathartic relief from everyday chores. Most hard of hearing people understand the need to express struggles and challenges that we face daily. This is my story.