Waking in the hospital bed, I blinked my eyes to see my mom sitting next to me holding my hand while my grandmother was standing behind me rubbing my hair. I always loved it when people play with my hair, it was relaxing.

My grandmother whispers to my mom, “Do you think she still wants Red Lobster?”

I struggled to say in a scratchy whispery voice, “Yes, I want clam chowder.”

I recognized the look of surprise on all their faces, astonished and intrigued, when they knew that I could hear them. After going seven years without being able to hear much at all, they were in shock and so happy that the procedure actually worked. They were so glad that I could finally hear for once in my life without having someone yell at me to talk. The expression on there face completely gave their excitement away.

Waiting patiently together for the nurse to come back, my mom and grandmother talked about how I sounded so different coming out of the anesthesia. Eyes wandering, heart racing, I felt so confused and felt like I was completely lost in a place I have never been. One of the things while I was in the hospital that I could remember was when my mom stepped in front of a window and how beautiful she was and how her skin was illuminated by the sun, how she just glowed.

I remember the bed, unconformable and white, and I constantly tossed and turned. I can remember the room, small and exposed, it could barely fit 3 people behind the curtain.

We waited for the nurse, pleasant and caring, to come back in and take out the IV so we could leave. I could hear her come from the scratchiness of her pants rubbing together creating static. As we left I was wheeled me out of the hospital. We got on the road and headed for Red Lobster. I can remember the smell and taste of the clam chowder, the empowering aroma and creamy.

As I grow older, being able to hear has completely changed my life. However, one thing that does bug me is that when I am in a certain place I can hear the waves of the television flowing through the air. The waves are, distracting and aggravating. This was one of the most emotionally-trying ordeals that I've had to overcome. It has changed my life completely. The feeling of being deaf not having the ability to hear growing up was not a lot of fun. The fact that everyone around me were, frustrated and impatient, because of the fact they didn’t know that I was unable to hear anything. The procedure went well, I am grateful for every thing and that fact that I can hear. I am so glad that I had the surgery to correct my hearing. This is a life-changing event that will forever be apart of me.