Deaf Girly's thankful Friday

Today, as I sit here typing in my living room with the balcony door open and the vaguely blue sky outside and the sunshine trying to fill the room with light, I am very thankful.

Two months ago my Pa had a heart attack and today when I saw him on FaceTime for a morning coffee chat with him and Ma, he looks like a different person. He has colour in his face for the first time in a year or more, he's a new person.

Until my Pa had a heart attack, I didn't realise that life after one could be dramatically better than life before one. How dyno-rodding the heart of all the gunk meant that for the first time in ages he can walk without getting out of breath or feeling pain.

Amazing huh?

The day my Pa had his heart attack, I was flying to Rotterdam to see Fab Friend. He and Ma insisted I go. And so I did. Sitting in the departure lounge I suddenly wondered if I was doing the right thing, and so I FaceTimed Ma for reassurance. She was brilliant. Just seeing her face and lip-reading what she was saying was enough to get me on that plane and on my way to having a lovely time with Fab Friend.

I FaceTimed The Rents quite a bit over the weekend – using 3G, not always wifi and it was clear and easy to hear them both. And that's what I'm thankful about today. I'm thankful at how much modern technology has changed my life. I'm thankful that in an emergency, my Pa can FaceTime me from his hospital bed so that I can see everything he has to say rather than press the phone to my ear in a vague hope of understanding. I am thankful that I could What'sApp pictures of his notes over to FJM's sister – who's a heart expert don't you know and get instant feedback. I'm thankful that SuperCathyFragileMystic was also on the other end of FaceTime for hugs and virtual cuddles with her and my gorgeous goddaughter.

One of the things I really struggled with as a teenager going deaf was the isolation of it all. I couldn't do the long phone chats with friends and there was no other way of keeping in touch with them outside of school unless it was in person. I couldn't do the whispers in class, or at sleepovers in the dark, or on the minibus on the way to matches. I'd got used to being in my own world for a lot of the time.

These days, I am never isolated – not unless I want to be anyway. I can FaceTime, What'sApp, SnapChat, Facebook or Tweet people without needing a scrap of hearing. I can book restaurants online, book hotels, book flights, book theatre, buy things, return things, ask things, bother companies for better services for deaf people – all without a scrap of hearing.

And for that I am very thankful. Thankful for the company, the independence and how easy these things are now becoming. And I'm excited, because they can only get better right?

Happy Friday peeps

DG
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