From the moment Dougie and his mother met the charismatic and professional otolaryngologist, Dr. Acosta Labrador, Dougie felt a skeptical hope at the fact he could hear for the first time, but for his mother, Mariella Cavapoo, he was the answer to her whispers and wishes. Dr Acosta guided the mother and son duo throughout the proceedings of putting the brand new two cochlear implants on Dougie, from explaining the technical information to calming down Mariella and any doubts she had. Dr. Acosta has always been building the bridge for Dougie and Mariella to cross into the new chapter of their lives. Even he was personally in charge of the surgery and any follow-up check-ins…although the next check-in would be sooner than expected.
Inside Dr. Acosta's office in the hospital, in between the two bookshelves, certificates, and a desk with a computer with a tiny Venezuelan and American flag on a tiny pole next to it, Dr Acosta was typing and moving the mouse across the soft and smooth pad, while two USB cables are coming out of the computer towards the cochlear implants of a seated Dougie, who was looking everywhere and swinging his right leg forward and backward, he had already given in to anxiety and uncertainty after losing his hearing at school.
After typing what seems to be forever, Dr Acosta presses the spacebar and sighs. Dougie catches the tiring sound from his doctor and starts wagging his tail. He fixed his hearings aids.
The doctor turns his head towards Dougie and says in an American accent, "Better?"
Dougie just nods with a smile and close eyes, expressing the massive weight that just got off him.
"Uh huh," his mother, Mariella, clears her throat to catch the doctor's attention and objects in an unpleasant tone. "What happened? You said my son's hearings aids would work just fine!"
"Yes, I will admit I said that," the doctor turns his head to Dougie. "By any causality, did this fault happen in a really overwhelming environment?"
"Ahhhh" Dougie looks away, trying to put together the words he wants to say, but his limited experience talking can only reach so far, so instead, he decided to signal him [I was, in, Music class. People, were, talking, around me, when, i heard, the, sharp, noice]
"Of course…" The doctor drops his shoulders and looks down
"What is it!?" Mariella asks Annoyed
"Here…" the doctor recomposes and starts typing on his computer. "You guys might want to see this."
Dougie removed the cords and walked behind the doctor's desk with his mother beside him, from where they could see the screen.
"So as we know," Acosta speaks while typing on the computer, "The Cochlear implants on Dougie are fairly new technology. It has been through all the necessary testing before proceeding with the surgeries, but…" The doctor moves the mouse around to signal with the cursor several emails from several sources. "All of these emails came out in the last two days reporting the sharp noise Dougie experienced. Let's look at this one, for example."
The doctor opens an email titled "Issues with implants mk4" and continues, "This is an Email from a fellow doctor in Northern Brisbane. He reported some of his patients had problems with the same implant Dougie has right now."
"Oh my god," Mariella reacted, shocked by the discovery. The news of other people having trouble with their transplants also shocked Dougie and shed a new light on what was happening to him; he wasn't really alone in this.
"This doctor," He continued, "Also shares similar issues with his patients as well as this Doctor right here. So this is definitely a pretty big problem in our hands."
"Ok, yeah, point taken," Mariella says, irritated. "So, are you people fixing on a solution?"
"Yeah?…" Acosta says unsurely, in a high-pitched voice. "We've been talking back and forth and letting the company that made Dougie's implants know what is going on, but so far, no one knows what to do."
"WHAT!" Mariella shocks her head back. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NONE ONE KNOWS WHAT TO DO!? So Dougie is going to have faulty implants forever!?"
"Well…" An uncomfortable Acosta raised his hands slightly in surrender. "These people know what's going on and are coming up with a solution. However, we have identified what causes it and how to prevent it."
"I'm listening," Dougie ironically says as he looks at Acosta sitting down.
"Something we have noticed in our patients is that the sharp noise comes on after a long period of overwhelming sound stimulation, like a school or a classroom. I already talked to one of my patients who is experiencing the same issue as you, and we learned that turning off the implant in unnecessary or continuous lousy situations can help the implant not trigger the noise."
"Ok…" Dougie nods, memorizing what the Doctor said "...So I, have to, turn off, the implant, if, I'm not, using it."
"Yeah, pretty much," Acosta says. "I will keep you guys posted if we have progress on a fix."
"Alright," Mariella says calmly. "So how is he going to do it at school if he can't keep the implant turned on the whole day?"
"Does your school have access to an interpreter?" Dr Acosta asks without missing a beat and with a raised eyebrow
"Yeah, two of them besides me and the ASLAN teacher."
"Good." Acosta turns his attention to his computer and starts typing, "Besides Dougie turning off the implant in unnecessary moments, I will officially suggest your school to assign an interpreter for Dougie in his classes. The more time he spends without using the device, the better the chances he doesn't suffer another crash, cuz if he does, he needs to come here to get it rebooted. This ain't simple enough for you guys to fix on your own…I will send you the recommendations through your email."
"Alright," Says Mariella, starting to walk towards the exit. "Thanks for fixing Dougie's implant."
"Sure thing, Ms Cavapoo," says Dr Acosta, but as Doguie walks towards the exit, he stops and quickly turns around to show him an open palm. Dr Acosta quickly catches on and high-fives Dougie. "See you around, Chamo." Acosta farewells the young Cavapoo as he exits his office
Already in the clean, white hallway of the Hospital, Dougie decided to put in gear what he and Acosta had said before and turned off his device, but being without sound and walking again through these halls woke up a lot of feelings he hadn't felt for a while. It was as if he was at home again, as if his life returned to normality, back to the time when he didn't have these implants on him.
While walking, Dougie looked at his mother from time to time; her demeanor changed. He doesn't see her lovely mother on that face; her smile has been replaced by her lips aiming downwards and a focused look without a care of what is happening around her.
When they finally reach the parking lot and hop in their car, Mariella puts the car key in the ignition and is about to twist it, but Dougie stops her by putting his hand on her forearm. Mariella naturally looks at her son, and when her sight is on him, Dougie removes his hand and starts signaling [Whats, wrong, mom?]
Mariella relaxed her arms, letting go of the steering wheel and keys, and looks up with wet eyes at the ceiling.
He could have turned on the implant to talk to his mom, but there is something intimate and familiar about communicating to her in sign language, A form of communication they know and use with confidence, something that reminds both of them they are in the same boat despite the challenges they suffered throughout their lives.
Finally, after looking up, Mariella looks at her son worryingly and signs [I'm not, ok, this, is, unfair…We, waited, for, a long, time, for this, and, this happens]
[I know, this, doesn't, look, good] signals Dougie [But, i, trust, the doctor, I know, this, isn't, forever]
[But, what if, it is, forever?] Mariella signs back
Dougie takes a minute, thinking of what His mother signaled to him, he still wishes to hear like the rest after getting the implants, but after being deaf for 12 years…the idea of being deaf forever sounds weirdly comfy… so he answers back with determination
[Then, it, doesn't, matter, I have, lived, deaf, for, all, my life, this, is, nothing, besides, the implants, still, work, don't worry, mom, I, will, be, fine]
Mariella looks away from Dougie and passes her hand on her eyes. Dougie's signals cause her to have more happy tears. When she looks back at Dougie, he quickly and excitedly signals to her [Can we, go, get, some, hamburgers?, I'm, hungry]
Despite not hearing her, Mariella chuckles and signals back, still with weary eyes. [Yes, of course]. She then holds the car keys and twists them, causing the car to turn on and drive off the parking lot and off the hospital to Dougie's favorite hamburger place.
This may not have been the way Dougie hoped to end his day.
But beyond the defective hearing aid, deep inside the Cavapoo, Dougie knows he is not alone in his new chapter. He has…
His mother
His doctor
His friends from the old school
And his new friend from his new school, Bingo…He better be prepared to put Bingo up to speed next time he sees her
You are still with me bub?…good, pay attention
Cochlear implants were first made in the 1960s, and the modern version, made in the 1970s, is still in use today. So that means it is a proven piece of technology that will not fail, like in this story.
However, here is the kicker that made me finally start this story: Cochlear implants for dogs are still in testing
For you, it probably means…nothing? idk, But for me, who is writing this story, means total creative freedom to drag Dougie through this, Muhahaha
And despite messing up how Cochlear implants work and how the transmitter connects to the head, Dougie's implant failing was supposed to happen anyway, however, a slight thing will change when we get to the Climax-Resolution part of this story
Feel free to write a review and see you next time.