These last couple months, the hospital has had several deaf patients come through our doors. I've now had this conversation (or a conversation VERY similiar) with two nurses and another physical therapist.
I am either walking down the hall minding my own business or writing notes as this nurse (or PT) comes running up to me in a frenzy.
Nurse: "Hey Sarah do you know sign language??" with a very hopeful look on their face
Me: "Nope sorry"
Nurse: "DAMMIT" and they turn around to run off in another direction
I'm sitting there thinking "what the hell, just because I'm deaf, I'm supposed to know sign??"
I just shrugged it off...until this week.....
I'm working with a hispanic patient that doesn't know a word of english and I had a very important question to ask that couldn't wait for a spanish interpreter....
I see a dark-skinned janitor cleaning a room down the hall, so I run down the hall and say:
Me: "Hey, do you know Spanish, can you interpret something real quick for me"
Janitor: *rolls her eyes* "no, I am NOT spanish nor do I know spanish"
I apologized profusely....
Monday, December 13, 2010
A taste of my own medicine
So over the weekend I had a deaf patient, and by deaf, I mean totally, 100% deaf, signing and is not oral at all. She had an interpreter with her 24/7. I was a little apprehensive about working with this patient because my experiences with other deaf folks, especially the signing deaf folks, have not been positive experiences. But there were limited therapists and she was on my list. So, I got to work with her and really got to taste my own medicine.
When I was growing up, and even now, when I take my ears out due to a headache, dead battery, wet hair or I just don't want to listen to another voice, my family/friends would always get pissed off. I used to think they were very selfish and didn't want to deal with a deaf person. What I wouldn't know (or just not realize) that whoever would be trying to get my attention at the time would start off by saying my name, followed by yelling my name several times, to be followed by waving of the arms, stomping on the floor or finally, having to march across the room just to tap me on the arm. At this point, they're pretty frustrated. So as I look up at them and say "what's up?" they usually have a pissed off look on their face and their response typically is "PUT ON YOUR EARS!!".
So as I enter this patient's room, I started by knocking on the door, quickly followed by the thought "duh Sarah, she can't hear the knock". I walk across the room to tap her or nudge the bed to get her attention. As I'm talking, the interpreter starts to sign. Throughout the treatment, I would give advice/tips on how to improve her walking, etc and when she doesn't respond to me, I start to say it louder, once again followed by the thought "duh Sarah, she can't hear you talking to her". One day, she was in the bathroom and I was trying to ask while respecting her privacy at the same time if she was done. I said her name...no response. I yelled her name....no response. I started to wave my arms and stomp the floor...once again, no response. So I march across the room into the bathroom to tap her arm. Only this time I couldn't yell at her "PUT ON YOUR EARS".
She was a sweet lady and I enjoyed working with her and watching her and the interpreter sign to each other, even though I couldn't understand a word of it. But it definitely made me appreciate my ears and I couldn't help but chuckle and now understand why my family/friends have this pissed off look when they're trying to get my attention.
When I was growing up, and even now, when I take my ears out due to a headache, dead battery, wet hair or I just don't want to listen to another voice, my family/friends would always get pissed off. I used to think they were very selfish and didn't want to deal with a deaf person. What I wouldn't know (or just not realize) that whoever would be trying to get my attention at the time would start off by saying my name, followed by yelling my name several times, to be followed by waving of the arms, stomping on the floor or finally, having to march across the room just to tap me on the arm. At this point, they're pretty frustrated. So as I look up at them and say "what's up?" they usually have a pissed off look on their face and their response typically is "PUT ON YOUR EARS!!".
So as I enter this patient's room, I started by knocking on the door, quickly followed by the thought "duh Sarah, she can't hear the knock". I walk across the room to tap her or nudge the bed to get her attention. As I'm talking, the interpreter starts to sign. Throughout the treatment, I would give advice/tips on how to improve her walking, etc and when she doesn't respond to me, I start to say it louder, once again followed by the thought "duh Sarah, she can't hear you talking to her". One day, she was in the bathroom and I was trying to ask while respecting her privacy at the same time if she was done. I said her name...no response. I yelled her name....no response. I started to wave my arms and stomp the floor...once again, no response. So I march across the room into the bathroom to tap her arm. Only this time I couldn't yell at her "PUT ON YOUR EARS".
She was a sweet lady and I enjoyed working with her and watching her and the interpreter sign to each other, even though I couldn't understand a word of it. But it definitely made me appreciate my ears and I couldn't help but chuckle and now understand why my family/friends have this pissed off look when they're trying to get my attention.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
An eventful day at work....
Here's a few more that have happened in the last couple weeks. One of them doesn't refer to my deafness but it's pretty funny...
For several days, I worked with this young man who was pretty sick and I even wondered if he'd remember me. Well one day, another therapist, Sonya, had to take him since I was too busy. Sonya found me after seeing this young man and told me that he was asking where I was. I guess he finally became alert enough to ask and surprisingly, actually remembered enough of me to ask Sonya. He specifically asked "where's that blonde therapist...the special talking one?" The other therapist got a kick out of that. I'm "special" alright, ha!
You remember back in my first post with the patient asking if I was deaf, mute or both? Refer to my first post if you don't. Well I saw him again, about a month later. This is how it goes...
Me: "Hey, you remember me?"
Patient: "Yep, I do, you're a PT"
Me: "Yep" I start talking to him about how he's doing and what we're going to do
Patient: "Before we start, I have a question"
Me: "what's that?" (knowing once again it's going to be about my ears)
Patient: "was it that you can't speak or that you can't hear?"
Me: "Well I've just been speaking to you for the last 10 minutes"
Patient: *Thinks about it for several minutes* "That was a stupid question wasn't it?"
Me: "yes sir, it was"
Seriously?!?! Idiot....
And this one is my favorite...
Myself and one of our aides, Pam, was in a patient's room trying to get her to participate with PT but she wanted nothing to do with us. While we're not allowed to force people to do what they don't want too, sometimes by sitting a patient at the edge of the bed, they actually feel better and then are more willing to work with us. So I just tell Pam, alright let's move her to the edge of the bed.
Upon sitting at the edge of the bed, she has this pissed off look on her face and looks at me very seriously, and with a very serious tone says:
"I can fight you....and I'm 99 years old"
I laid that patient back down and left her alone the rest of the day.
For several days, I worked with this young man who was pretty sick and I even wondered if he'd remember me. Well one day, another therapist, Sonya, had to take him since I was too busy. Sonya found me after seeing this young man and told me that he was asking where I was. I guess he finally became alert enough to ask and surprisingly, actually remembered enough of me to ask Sonya. He specifically asked "where's that blonde therapist...the special talking one?" The other therapist got a kick out of that. I'm "special" alright, ha!
You remember back in my first post with the patient asking if I was deaf, mute or both? Refer to my first post if you don't. Well I saw him again, about a month later. This is how it goes...
Me: "Hey, you remember me?"
Patient: "Yep, I do, you're a PT"
Me: "Yep" I start talking to him about how he's doing and what we're going to do
Patient: "Before we start, I have a question"
Me: "what's that?" (knowing once again it's going to be about my ears)
Patient: "was it that you can't speak or that you can't hear?"
Me: "Well I've just been speaking to you for the last 10 minutes"
Patient: *Thinks about it for several minutes* "That was a stupid question wasn't it?"
Me: "yes sir, it was"
Seriously?!?! Idiot....
And this one is my favorite...
Myself and one of our aides, Pam, was in a patient's room trying to get her to participate with PT but she wanted nothing to do with us. While we're not allowed to force people to do what they don't want too, sometimes by sitting a patient at the edge of the bed, they actually feel better and then are more willing to work with us. So I just tell Pam, alright let's move her to the edge of the bed.
Upon sitting at the edge of the bed, she has this pissed off look on her face and looks at me very seriously, and with a very serious tone says:
"I can fight you....and I'm 99 years old"
I laid that patient back down and left her alone the rest of the day.
Friday, November 19, 2010
I TOTALLY understand....
This post is appropriate for me today since I'm fighting a cold and feel like crap. So this brings me back to this memory and the reason for today's post.
When I lived up in Knoxville, going to UT, sometimes I would hang out with my second family up there; my aunt, uncle, and cousins. One night, my lil cousin was going to be in a church play for the holidays and they invited me to come watch. Of course, I couldn't pass up a chance for free food (the church provided dinner before the play) and to watch my lil cousin, so I came along. As we're sitting around the table, my aunt and uncle are talking to all of their friends and I didn't know a single person so I was just sitting there watching everyone. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my aunt whisper to one of her friends "she's deaf so make sure you look at her so she can read your lips" (In case you don't know, I'm very observant and can read lips from across the room) However, when people are warned that I'm deaf before they actually meet me, they seem to jump to the conclusion that they have to over-enunciate every word while speaking loudly, which quite honestly, annoys the hell out of me. My aunt's friend looked very excited and so at this point I realized I'm about to embark on an interesting conversation.
About five minutes later, this friend of my aunt comes over and sits down next to me.
Friend: While speaking very loudly and over-enunciating "Hi Sarah, my name is so and so" (I actually don't remember her name)
Me: "Hey it's nice to meet you"
Friend: "I have something to tell you"
Me: "what's that?"
Friend: "About once a year, I get this really bad sinus infection and I can't just hear anything at all"
Me: "uh huh...."
Friend: "So I TOTALLY understand how you feel"
As she says this, she puts her hand on my arm and smiles like we've become best friends because of her ONE cold a year, she totally understands how someone like me, who's deaf year round and who has never had hearing, knows how I feel. I finally found my long lost best friend....
When I lived up in Knoxville, going to UT, sometimes I would hang out with my second family up there; my aunt, uncle, and cousins. One night, my lil cousin was going to be in a church play for the holidays and they invited me to come watch. Of course, I couldn't pass up a chance for free food (the church provided dinner before the play) and to watch my lil cousin, so I came along. As we're sitting around the table, my aunt and uncle are talking to all of their friends and I didn't know a single person so I was just sitting there watching everyone. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my aunt whisper to one of her friends "she's deaf so make sure you look at her so she can read your lips" (In case you don't know, I'm very observant and can read lips from across the room) However, when people are warned that I'm deaf before they actually meet me, they seem to jump to the conclusion that they have to over-enunciate every word while speaking loudly, which quite honestly, annoys the hell out of me. My aunt's friend looked very excited and so at this point I realized I'm about to embark on an interesting conversation.
About five minutes later, this friend of my aunt comes over and sits down next to me.
Friend: While speaking very loudly and over-enunciating "Hi Sarah, my name is so and so" (I actually don't remember her name)
Me: "Hey it's nice to meet you"
Friend: "I have something to tell you"
Me: "what's that?"
Friend: "About once a year, I get this really bad sinus infection and I can't just hear anything at all"
Me: "uh huh...."
Friend: "So I TOTALLY understand how you feel"
As she says this, she puts her hand on my arm and smiles like we've become best friends because of her ONE cold a year, she totally understands how someone like me, who's deaf year round and who has never had hearing, knows how I feel. I finally found my long lost best friend....
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
How I became a Tater....
Sean and I met and exchanged numbers at a grad school party. We started dating. Fast forward about six months of dating, I remember a conversation I had with my mom about the relatively new guy I was dating and how he has yet to ask me about my ears, which I was pretty surprised about. My mom brought up how it seems like of all the guys I've dated, they would either look down at me as someone they had to take care of or they would put me up on this pedestal and look up at me as if I was this goddess that has conquered the world. But Sean, he treated me as an equal and never asked my ears. So that night, I decided to approach the topic. This is how it went...and yes, I remember it that vividly....
Me: "So Sean, we've been dating several months now and yet you've never asked about my ears. Are you curious about them at all?"
Sean: "what kind of questions would I ask?"
Me: "I don't know...."
There's a moment of silence so I blurted out this question...
Me: "well if things progress and we get married and have kids, there may be a slight chance that they'd be deaf too"
Sean: "well we'll just slap those ear things you have on them and they'll be fine"
For those of you who don't know, these "ear things" I have are cochlear implants that involve a six hour surgery. Regardless, I married the guy a year and half later and became a Tater.
Me: "So Sean, we've been dating several months now and yet you've never asked about my ears. Are you curious about them at all?"
Sean: "what kind of questions would I ask?"
Me: "I don't know...."
There's a moment of silence so I blurted out this question...
Me: "well if things progress and we get married and have kids, there may be a slight chance that they'd be deaf too"
Sean: "well we'll just slap those ear things you have on them and they'll be fine"
For those of you who don't know, these "ear things" I have are cochlear implants that involve a six hour surgery. Regardless, I married the guy a year and half later and became a Tater.
Bed Bath and Beyond
So one day I'm shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond and this employee comes up to me...
Employee: "Can I help you find anything?"
Me: "No, I'm good, thanks"
I return to whatever I was looking at and out the corner of my eye I see him brighten up like a little kid on Christmas morning. In the back of my mind I'm thinking sh*t and try to walk away quickly. But he cuts me off my path and starts to sign to me...
Employee: "are you deaf?" as he's signing to me
Me: "......no......."
The employee's face quickly turns from an overly excited kid to the face of a kid whose new Christmas toys were taken away by the Grinch
Employee: "are you sure?" as he continues to sign
Me: "yes I'm sure"
Employee: "Can I help you find anything?"
Me: "No, I'm good, thanks"
I return to whatever I was looking at and out the corner of my eye I see him brighten up like a little kid on Christmas morning. In the back of my mind I'm thinking sh*t and try to walk away quickly. But he cuts me off my path and starts to sign to me...
Employee: "are you deaf?" as he's signing to me
Me: "......no......."
The employee's face quickly turns from an overly excited kid to the face of a kid whose new Christmas toys were taken away by the Grinch
Employee: "are you sure?" as he continues to sign
Me: "yes I'm sure"
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Introduction....
So let me explain the reason for this blog before I start posting some things that one may hear when they're deaf. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm deaf (I prefer the term hearing impaired), and I get the most bizarre comments. When I was younger, it used to piss me off and even though while it still annoys me, sometimes I just have to laugh. Most of the comments I got when I was younger was directed right at my deafness, because it was more obvious. However, since I've been implanted and my speech has improved significantly, I get all kinds of comments about my "accent". So I have decided to start a blog to record and share with my loved ones the most bizzare comments I get and maybe bring a lil laughter to our days, and to vent too so you may see some ugly choice of words but at least you were warned. So without further ado, here it is folks!
Most recent comment from today:
Patient: "So I have a question"
Me: "what's that?" (knowing it was going to be related to my "accent")
Patient: "Are you deaf, mute, or both?"
Me: "Well, obviously, I'm not mute if I'm talking to you"
Seriously?!?! idiot....
Another comment from earlier this week:
16 year old girl: "are you wearing a retainer?"
Me: "Am I wearing a what??"
16 yo girl: "a retainer"
16 year old girl's mom: "Brittany...hush"
At this point there's an awkward silence in the room as I'm still trying to figure out what kind of question that was....
Me: "ohhh, no, I'm hearing impaired"
16 yo girl: *gasp* OMG I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be mean, I'm so sorry"
Me: "mm hmm, okay let's go for a walk now"
Last but not least:
Patient: "Where are you from?"
Me: "Sweden"
Patient: "ohh"
I do my thing with the patient then leaving instructions for the patient on how to get back to bed. I start to leave the room and say good-bye.
This is the patient's response: "You know, you're pretty straight-forward.....but I guess that's how most of you Swedish people are"
Most recent comment from today:
Patient: "So I have a question"
Me: "what's that?" (knowing it was going to be related to my "accent")
Patient: "Are you deaf, mute, or both?"
Me: "Well, obviously, I'm not mute if I'm talking to you"
Seriously?!?! idiot....
Another comment from earlier this week:
16 year old girl: "are you wearing a retainer?"
Me: "Am I wearing a what??"
16 yo girl: "a retainer"
16 year old girl's mom: "Brittany...hush"
At this point there's an awkward silence in the room as I'm still trying to figure out what kind of question that was....
Me: "ohhh, no, I'm hearing impaired"
16 yo girl: *gasp* OMG I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be mean, I'm so sorry"
Me: "mm hmm, okay let's go for a walk now"
Last but not least:
Patient: "Where are you from?"
Me: "Sweden"
Patient: "ohh"
I do my thing with the patient then leaving instructions for the patient on how to get back to bed. I start to leave the room and say good-bye.
This is the patient's response: "You know, you're pretty straight-forward.....but I guess that's how most of you Swedish people are"
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