Returning home...

June 11th, returning home:

Sorry it took me so long to write up this post, I know I have left some people in the lurch on the rest of our trip.

Tuesday morning began much the same as the day before. I will have to say that both hubby and I slept better on this night, better than the night before, but not well. We woke at 6:30am, did our normal morning routine of showering and dressing. Breakfast was at 7:30am. 

This morning was cheese omelets, toast, sausage, fruit, assorted cereals, coffee and hot tea. Because I can't have the eggs, I passed on the omelet. Instead I had a sausage sandwiche, cereal, yogurt and fruit. While at breakfast we met another student that we spoke briefly with. One other thing that happened while at breakfast was, after all the talk the day before about fire alarms. One of the fire alarms went off briefly. I didn't hear anything, just a little feedback in my hearing aids, but I didn't think anything was wrong. Hubby said it was loud and annoying. It scares me to think that I didn't hear anything at all.

As far as the fire alarms, would I be able to hear the ones at home? I know for sure I would not hear them with my hearing aids out. Guess that is something we should look into.

This morning we did not have any schedule meetings, so we played it by ear. After breakfast we returned to our room, and packed a majority of our belongings. Around 9:30, we went back over to the training building to speak with Dora, the admissions person. Hubby had left a message for my OVR counselor about my application. And funny enough, my OVR counselor had sent it that morning. So when we spoke to Dora, she mentioned that she had received it. We also needed to get another form from her.

The weather on this day was warm, humid, and sunny. It was such a drastic change from the day before it was strange. After meeting with Dora briefly we went back over to the residential building. We could not get in right, away until a staff person came along. By the time we went back to our room, the towels and sheets had been taken from our room, and we were pretty much packed up.

Around 11am I received an email from Allison, telling us that one of the IL people could see us for a few minutes. So we headed back over to the training building. We met Allison on the walk there. We met Tracey at the top of the stairs going into the courtyard into the building. She has a pup from Leader. We followed her to the IL room.

I had a few questions about alarms, and different techniques for cooking. I made it very clear that I know the blindness skills part of it, but now need help with the hearing part. She said that would be important for me to mention to the Case Managers, my OVR, and other persons if and when I came for training. We spent about 30 minutes with her. Tracey was very hard to understand, I honestly don't mean this in a rude way, but because she is deafblind herself. Several of the helpers or staff in the residential building was very hard to understand too, because they had an accent, again I am not trying to be rude.

After our meeting with IL, we returned once again to our room, with a bit of difficulty getting back into the building. We checked to make sure all of our things were together, as after lunch we were making a quick getaway for home.

Lunch, was another hamburger, mac salad, salad, fruit, banana cake, and pears. This time we metanother student, who did not seem to like to speak to me. *shrug*

We ate and then retrieved our things. We headed to the training building where a cab was called. The cab came pretty quickly, as it was dropping off another party. So we were on our way. It didn't take us long to get to the train station. This time the cab driver was very nice in helping us go into the ticket office. This is where a nice LIR employee helped us buy tickets, and then get on the train.

We settle down on to our train. I took a short nap, and hubby woke me up just as we were getting into NYC Penn station. The train ride went quickly. Not sure why I was so tired or sleepy.

We debarked the LIR train, found our way up stairs. And then god just happened to put the right person in our path. We had just stepped up the last step, and nice gentlemen asked if we needed help.

I said yes, he asked if I wanted to take his arm, so I thought perhaps he was a LIR worker. Come to find out, he was not. He said his nephew was blind. He mentioned that one day he would like to be an O&M instructor. He said that he had lived here in NYC all of his life, I mentioned that we were visiting. I told him that I didn't get the busy of the station. He asked what specifically what we were doing on LI, and I told him briefly about HKNC. When I told him that I was deafblind, he was confused. Not sure why. He helped us find the Redcap desk in Amtrak. By this time we had an hour to wait for our train. Just at the time that they told us, a red cap helped us down to the train.

I have to say something very quickly about our brief visit to the NYC Penn station. OhMygoodness, was this station busy. When we were there on our way home it was so so so noise. I ended up taking out my hearing aids because of how noise it was. People were going every direction, people talking, all sort of different people, going all different directions to different states and cities. I could never live or travel in NYC, it’s just not me. The station would give me a headache, it’s too much input, too much noise.

Our Amtrak ride went without any troubles. I crocheted, and hubby read. It’s exactly a 1 hour and 20 minutes from Philadelphia 30th station to NYC Penn station. This is from a girl who lived in a state that was so big, that when you drove an hour, you were still in the city of Dallas. Now here in the East, you can travel from state to state within an hour. LOL

We arrived at 30th street station Philadelphia at 5:25pm. We then went to our SEPTA train. Yes thus far one cab, two trains (LIR and Amtrak), and then now another train SEPTA. We got on our line at 5:42. We arrived at our station at 6:40ish. That train ride was uneventful, thank goodness. Then my Father-in-law picked us up.

On the way home we picked up sandwiches for dinner, as we were both tired and did not want to fix anything. It was a cab, 3 trains, and a car sort of day.

Hubby and I were both in bed at 9pm.

I am still a bit displeased that I didn't get to speak to the O&M department while there. Overall it was an informative trip. Before the trip I could not see myself ever going there, now I can't see myself necessarily going there, but I also can't see myself not not going there for training. At this point I have stopped asking for myself and hubby to make a decision, but to leave it up to God. That is not to say that I don't think about it. But if I am meant to go there, then it will happen, everything will fall into place. If I am not meant to go there for training, then everything will work out with me to continue with school. I would drive myself crazy trying to make this decision, I see the benefits, I see all of the skills I would learn, and I get it. I am no longer opposed to training at the HKNC. What is to happen will happen.

Another piece of the decision pieces is that supposedly very shortly I am to be fitted with new hearing aids. This is a 60 day trial. If they work great, if they don't okay too.

This is all for now, I will continue to update on other thoughts, other happenings, random thoughts, progress on hearing aids, or on any progress or not of going to HKNC.

More later.....