Things that don't require hearing.

1. Hugs (especially from Ivy - good hugger!)

2. My wife's smile.

3. Watching my nine-month old son, Jonathan, sleep.

4. Babette the beagle jumping on me as if I'm the prodigal son.

5. Candles.

6. Riding my bicycle (although I should hear what I can, for safety's sake).

7. Trees growing.

8. Mom and Dad's loving smile... and smiles at the grandkids!

9. Eating delicious food.

10. Reading.

What is exactly involved in the surgery?

Here is a good link with a brief sketch of the cochlear implant surgery (you'll have to cut and paste the links into your URL, sorry):

http://deafness.about.com/od/basicsofcochlearimplants/a/cisurgery.htm

Also a video:

http://video.about.com/deafness/Cochlear-Implants.htm

I am getting excited about this...

Over half of surgery costs already raised!

We have already received more than half of the $31,000 needed for the cochlear implant surgery! As of today, we've collected $17,075 from people from as far away as Florida and Eastern Oregon. It's amazing, even in this uncertain financial climate, how people seem to find a way to keep on giving: with their time at a shelter, or money for a cause, or even something as simple as deciding to say "hi"to a stranger on the street. Maybe there is good news out there, if we choose to look for it.

Thank you for your support!

Love,

P.J.

Some things don't need to be heard to be enjoyed...

I was having Mexican food at Sal's in West Sacramento with my family on Tuesday evening when this amazing rainbow appeared. We all rushed outside and enjoyed its beauty... with a few moments of admiring silence. In this cacophonous world we live in, its nice to know we can still be interrupted by things like rainbows into a kind a stupefied "Wow."

Where to send a tax-deductible donation for my surgery

If you would like to help me cover the cost of the surgery, you can send a check to:

FAR HORIZONS FELLOWSHIP (this is also what you make the check out to)

P.O. BOX 177

CHRISTMAS VALLEY, OR   97641

Be sure to write "P.J. Ramey's Cochlear Implant" on either the memo or in a note.

Thank you!

Picture of initial appointment with Dr. Richard Kopke

This is Dr. Kopke and I after being examined and praying with him about the procedure.  He struck me as a warm-hearted and knowledgeable man.  He will be doing the surgery.

Oh, yeah, I HAVE met someone with a cochlear implant...

Emily (my wife) reminded me today that in late 2007 we went to a winery in Napa and met a bartender who had a cochlear implant. (Note to self: thank God for your wife!)

The memory comes back to me clear as day: this guy was about my age, maybe a little younger, but he was hearing everything we were saying with little or no difficulty. He seemed to relish conversation as if "in his element" and was articulate in his responses, although I know I did not hear as much as Emily did.

I want to be that guy!

Maybe I will...

maybe I will.

Implant date set for June 2nd!

This morning I got a call from Roxie, who is Dr. Richard Kopke's assistant at the Hough Ear Institute in Oklahoma City. The surgery is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 2nd! Yes!

Dr. Kopke, the epitome of the southern gentleman, will be performing the surgery. He gave me great assurance when I initially met him earlier this year for preliminary testing, and prayed with me about the decision.

The following is the informative website for the Hough Ear Institute, and even has a picture of Dr. Kopke right on the homepage! Simply cut and paste the line below into your URL or you can even do a search at google.com for "hough ear institute" and the first result after the search will be where to go.

http://www.integris-health.com/INTEGRIS/en-US/Specialties/EarInstitute/HoughEarInstitute/

Help me hear better!

Born with profound hearing loss, I have benefited from hearing aids most of my life.

I have had to work at not only living with a hearing challenge, but also a mental illness (bi-polar disorder) that is somewhat managed through a combination of medicine and reliance on friends and family.

Incredibly enough, I have a wonderful wife and two children (Ivy, 3 and Jonathan, 9 months) who love me just as I am: craziness and deaf-ishness included. Finding the humor in it all helps us get through. Laughter really is the best medicine sometimes.

My parents live in the same city and provide unending emotional and financial support, and love having grandkids 15 minutes away.

I have friends from church and school living near me and whom I interact with, providing me with another layer of assurance and encouragement on life's rough road.

But I'm still frustrated. Does it have to be THIS hard?

No, it doesn't.

Several months ago, my dad went to Oklahoma City with a missionary friend of his to help him get hearing aids. He noticed they also provided cochlear implants, which is an incredible technology that requires surgery and has improved the hearing lives of many people.

I've never met anyone that had a cochlear implant, but from what I've read and researched on the internet, the benefits are amazing and people's live have changed dramatically for the better because of it.

An audiologist from my church was actually the first person to tell me I may be eligible for a cochlear implant. But my first reaction in my mind was: "There is no way I can afford it."

But I feel this is a step that I feel I must take; a leap of faith into a new world of hearing, one that will give me, God-willing, a new-found confidence in my ability to communicate with others.

The total cost of the cochlear implant surgery and the device is $31,000.

My family is helping me get the word out and we have already raised almost half of this!

Please help me hear better. If you would like to send a word of encouragement or (tax-deductible!) gift to help me hear better, send me an email at "pjramey@gmail.com" and I will definitely reply!

Sincerely,

P.J. Ramey

P.S. Information about the implant--> http://products.cochlearamericas.com