This past week, I had my regular six-month visit to my neurologist. I have been seeing her for about five years since shortly after we arrived in Teaneck. She was the one who clarified many of the problems I had over the few years before we moved, like the problems I had developed in my teaching, which led me to retire from teaching; the “drop” attacks I experienced (where I fell, without notice and without tripping) for a year or two; and a number of other unexplained symptoms. She informed me that I had vascular dementia and had probably experienced a series of mini-strokes. She sent me for some referrals and then administered a number of tests. She repeated one of those tests at this week’s visit. After that she happily reported that my symptoms were showing some improvement and that my results were somewhat mirroring the results that President Trump got when his physician administered a test of his intellect. That was very nice to hear.
The second piece of good news I received this week was that I would be getting a cochlear implant soon. Actually, one of the other doctors I visited shortly after we arrived was an ENT. She recommended a hearing aid. When we asked about a cochlear implant, she said that her father had hearing problems similar to mine and he was complaining terribly but that he wasn’t a candidate for that procedure, nor was I. I believed that (and suffered from my difficulty) until a year or so ago. Ben Rosenthal (my wife put that in after I typed it—I still didn’t remember his name, though maybe now, I will), who sits at the same table as I in shul, had kids coming in and out and one of the them had something attached to the side of his head with wires coming out if it. Ben (who is very lovely) explained that his son has had a cochlear implant, since, I believe, shortly after his birth. Over the weeks and months following, we discussed the implants a number of times, and he informed me that there was no reason I couldn’t get it myself. We (actually, my wife) went about getting an appointment set up at NYU, went through a series of appointments and tests with an audiologist there and had our final meeting with the “chief audiologist” this past week as well. We are scheduled to meet with the surgeon shortly. Actually, I was a bit nervous until our last meeting. This audiologist was great, explained everything to us and greatly put my mind at ease. I am now looking forward to returning after a while, with the beginning of learning how to hear well after the surgery. The audiologist said it would take a year or more before we could tell how much improvement I got, but that there was basically no downside otherwise. So, after a year, watch what you say near me—because I will hopefully hear it! That is almost better news than the first piece.
I am not a terribly pushy person, so it is somewhat uncommon for me to spontaneously start talking to someone. But I am getting used to speaking up more—with glorious results. I regularly visit the Bergenfield library (like all libraries, it is a wonderful place) and began talking to the people there without waiting for them to speak to me. I began recently to initiate conversation and mostly got wonderful answers, a practice I hope to continue. I am reading wonderful nonfiction books dealing with many different and exciting things. I am also reading the New York Times more fully than in the past. (Excuse me, for those who are continuing to boycott the Times for their sometimes terrible reporting on Israel.) It really is a wonderful world, where one can be open, change when appropriate, learn an unlimited number of unbelievable new things, learn to say I’m sorry (that takes time—sometimes a lot of it) and possibly most importantly, learn to change your behavior when interacting with others, especially your spouse, so that your relationships continue to improve every day of your life. I look forward to experiencing much good news (and occasionally bad news) in the future. I am enjoying this trip through life as we all should!
By Rabbi Mordechai Glick
