My Beautiful Cyborg
23 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingSEASON 3 - My Beautiful Cyborg: A love Story About Hearing - Most of 2019 was about podcasting, but Caroline was listening, not recording. Now the story continues with ongoing experience. The emotions are still big, with gratitude front and centre. Season three will also introduce new voices - audiologists, voice actors, broadcasters, and public speakers - we'll explore hearing from people who rely on it. The baby steps are over; join Caroline as she breaks into a run. And Andreas tries to keep up.
SEASON 2 - My Beautiful Cyborg: A Love Story About Hearing.
"Hearing isn't all about sound, it's about each other." Now Caroline is #deafnotdeaf. It has to be all good news right? Absolutely! But it’s possible to be OVERjoyed. Caroline and Andreas talk about coming out of the fog of a quiet life and reflect on adapting to hearing again. They thought they had an exciting story to tell before. It turns out hearing is like an onion. A very big onion. My Beautiful Cyborg has discovered more about hearing and how it connects us than she imagined.
SEASON 1 - The Candidate
Caroline is hard of hearing. To be more accurate, without hearing aids, Caroline is "late deafened." After a lifetime of degenerative hearing loss, hearing aids won’t do the trick anymore. So, Caroline is going to become a cyborg. She’s on the path to receive a cochlear implant. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Caroline is going to become a cyborg. She’s getting a cochlear implant will replace the parts of hr hearing that doesn’t work. Caroline can’t wait. In Episode 1 of My Beautiful Cyborg, you’ll meet Caroline and learn a little bit about her hearing loss, and what stage she’s at in the cochlear implant process. They’re putting what in my head? I have to go shopping? I’ll be DEAF DEAF?! Caroline has questions, and we talk through the answers. Meet Caroline, My Beautiful Cyborg.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Two Years After Caroline's Last Deaf Day
January 28, 2020 23:15 - 16 minutes - 29.8 MBJanuary 28, 2018 was Caroline's last deaf day. Two years later - to the day - Caroline and Andreas catch up on the long podcast-free period (most of 2019): Caroline is listening to podcasts. A lot of them. Constantly. Caroline talks about her favourite podcasts, her favourite podcast and radio voices, what it's like to hear on vacation, a technical glitch over Christmas, how the sound of a doorknob will rock your world. And she talks lingering self-doubt.
One Colourful Evening...
May 02, 2019 23:32 - 19 minutes - 36 MBIn November 2018, Caroline and Andreas received a Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation "Courage Award," recognizing extraordinary efforts in approaching Caroline's hearing and loss, but also for their advocacy, awareness, and mentoring. The Courage Gala on April 12 was a memorable evening. The gala theme was "The Colours of Courage." There was food. There was drink. There was music. They got up in front of a thousand people and talked about hearing. Most epsiodes of My Beautiful Cy...
Celebration Time
April 30, 2019 23:41 - 26 minutes - 48.8 MBIt's Celebration time. It's about time. In mid-February Caroline and Andreas traveled to Nashville to speak and take in Cochlear Celebration. It was all go go go and rush rush rush once they got back. One more big event with a talk, and another coming up at the end of May, the pair have had their hands full. Plus the mentoring, plus the day to day re-ordering of your life once it's been blown to unrecognizable but much better smithereens. Cochlear is Caroline's implant manufacturer. Every...
S2 E5: The Activation Episode
January 30, 2019 23:11 - 35 minutes - 65.9 MBThere are few times in life when the line between yesterday and today changes everything. January 28, 2018 was Caroline's last deaf day. The Activation Episode is about January 29, 2018. Caroline and Andreas listen to Caroline's activation audio. Activation was billboarded on multiple previous podcasts, but life took a turn as we learned to cope with being a hearing couple. It's been a year, okay? We think this episode was worth the wait. This isn't bombast and fanfare. This is awak...
Season 2, Episode 4: WE HAVE NEW BOOMS!*
January 16, 2019 23:50 - 20 minutes - 38.1 MBCaroline turns the tables and sits on the other side of the table as she asks Andreas about his hearing. Which is, in a word, unusual. It's another twist in a love story about hearing. Ironically, Andreas reveals that being able to hear everything isn't always what it's cracked up to be. But in the end, even if you live on opposite ends of the hearing spectrum, together is better. Caroline & Andreas will be speaking at Cochlear Celebration in Nashville, TN - https://www.cochlear.com/us/...
Season 2, Episode 3: The Mirror Episode
January 06, 2019 21:40 - 23 minutes - 42.9 MBAfter a hectic Christmas holidays with family and friends, Caroline and Andreas settle back into whatever routine they can manage. In the spirit of Auld Lang Syne, they reflect on seemingly routine little things that stop them in their tracks. Conversations with normal flow, a stranger asking directions, a fart. They're major -- yes you read that right, a far...if you want to find out why a fart was a major sign of success, you'll just have to listen. Where was I...oh yes, a major fart. No,...
Surgery Day +365
December 12, 2018 00:01 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBOn December 12, 2018 Caroline and Andreas tried to have a normal morning. You know, do all the normal things like pack up a day bag, take a change of clothes, and hold your husband's hand uncomfortably tightly as you find your way to the hospital admissions desk. There's nothing much normal about implant surgery day. To celebrate implant surgery day, Caroline listens to something she's never heard before: audio from the pre-operative meeting with surgeon, Dr. Richard Liu. Before implant su...
Season 2: Episode 1 - Sorry, I Broke the Podcast.
November 22, 2018 23:59 - 20 minutes - 18.3 MBMy Beautiful Cyborg returns. Finally. Caroline begins with an apology: "I broke the podcast!" What the heck happened? A deaf woman regained her hearing - that's the opposite of breaking something. Now Caroline is #deafnotdeaf. Why drop off the radar? It has to be all good news right? Absolutely. But it's possible to be overjoyed. Caroline and Andreas talk about coming out of the fog of reflection. They thought they had an exciting story to tell before. It turns out hearing is like an on...
Episode 16: Thank you / The World Hearing Day
March 06, 2018 00:15 - 25 minutes - 46.5 MBMarch 3 is World Hearing Day. And 2018 was a very special World Hearing Day for Caroline for two reasons. First, Caroline can hear because she received a cochlear implant on December 12, 2017, and it was activated on January 29, 2018. As a result, Caroline wanted to do a second special thing: officially thank the people of Alberta and Canada for her hearing - because Canada has universal health care. Caroline and Andreas will never see a bill for the implant or processor. Andreas no...
Episode 13 - Take a Deep Breath
February 17, 2018 12:47 - 16 minutes - 22 MBIt's been just three weeks since Caroline could, very suddenly, hear again. Caroline's activation and hearing rehab were astonishingly fast. Now it's time to play catch up. Caroline talks a bit about the new hearing gadgets, and new friends as the pair make contact with other Cochlear Implantees around the world. http://mybeautifulcyborg.com
Episode 12 - Welcome to the Roller Coaster
February 08, 2018 11:34 - 24 minutes - 33.3 MBA cochlear implant is a technical wonder, but it's also an existential feast. "I couldn't hear, and then I could." Caroline's Cochlear Kanso has been activated for one week. Caroline and Andreas share stories and observations from Caroline's first week of hearing - including the secret nightmare of the deaf. Real laughter. Real tears. Often at the same time. Welcome to the emotional roller coaster of week one. http://mybeautifulcyborg.com If you're concerned may be suffering ...
E11 - THE BEGINNING OF THE REST OF MY LIFE
January 31, 2018 15:22 - 21 minutes - 29.6 MBIn May 2017, Caroline was referred to be evaluated for a cochlear implant. Before the end of summer she was an official candidate. On December 12 a neurotology surgical team lead by Dr. Richard Liu implanted Caroline with a Cochlear CI532 slim modiolar implant. ShaSha Shi is Caroline's audiologist. January 29, 2018: Caroline's activation day. Caroline and Andreas talk about the experience of activation day. Caroline explains what it's like to sift through a sea of new sound she can'...
E10 - A Day of Days
January 29, 2018 00:47 - 29 minutes - 39.9 MBToday is activation day. If you're deaf, and then someone says "January 29 is the day you'll have access to a lot more sound again," yeah, that's a day of days. Andreas and Caroline talk about emotional freakouts and how waiting is brutal. Andreas outlines the activation procedure, then a nervous lack of focus makes an appearance. Caroline restores order by talking about what she images will change once she experiences sound through a new digital ear and neural array. This is where ...
E9 - The Complete Post-Surgery Guide on How to Stifle a Sneeze
January 10, 2018 01:04 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MBThis episode is a long-delayed follow-up to the recovery episode, but Caroline needed a little break (the Recovery episode really tuckered her out). But first, Caroline catches up on some firsts: first post-surgery hair (because they shaved off a big bald spot on the right side), what Caroline calls her beautiful scar (if you can find it), and the new Cyborg provides a complete guide on how to execute a successful, if not gracefully, post-surgery sneeze; because but when you've just ...
E8 - The Recovery
December 19, 2017 00:31 - 21 minutes - 29.9 MBEpisode 8 is called "The Recovery," but it starts with gratitude. It's been a week since Caroline had a cochlear implant surgically installed into her right ear. After an overnight stay in hospital Caroline was cleared to go home. The entire experience of getting a cochlear implant is new, so first things first, Caroline wanted comfort food. Caroline shares her observations - and what she can remember about her hospital experience - which is more, and less, than you'd think. She'll p...
E7 - My Beautiful Cyborg
December 12, 2017 22:31 - 15 minutes - 21.3 MBIt's December 12: surgery day. After a lifetime of declining hearing, Caroline is going to receive a CI532 cochlear implant. We have a talk in car on the way to the hospital, and then simply let Caroline's surgeon, Dr. Richard Liu, describe the cochlear implant procedure, the risks, techniques, and what he loves about doing the procedure. Today is the day Caroline becomes My Beautiful Cyborg. http://mybeautifulcyborg.com
E6 - 'Twas the Night Before Surgery...
December 11, 2017 21:03 - 17 minutes - 24.6 MBWith apologies to Clement Clarke Moore... 'Twas the night before surgery, and all through the house, the crying and fretting was stressing the spouse. There aren't a lot of days you can put your finger on a calendar and say, "Yep, that's the day my life utterly and forever changed for the better." That's the hope Caroline is facing. And then there's the fear of the unknown, and anxiety. A cochlear implant IS technically neurosurgery after all. What could go wrong? Sickness? Yeah, C...
E5 - The Ironic Episode
December 06, 2017 12:55 - 9 minutes - 8.7 MBSo there we were, recording an episode on the reliability of technology, especially when it's installed in your body, and the studio computer died. Well, it didn't die exactly, but it was unusable with a problem that was equally spontaneous, mysterious, and frustrating. Episode 5 is the laptop episode. The good news is Caroline spoke with Melanie Monaghan, the audiologist who referred Caroline to be evaluated for an implant. Caroline forgets she's conducting an interview, and it bec...
S1 E4 - What if "Hearing-Caroline" is awful?!
December 01, 2017 01:39 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBAfter months of appointments, tests, reading, more reaching, discussion, counseling, and a final bit of consultation, Caroline is less than two weeks from her implant surgery. There's no need to qualify that with "life changing," Caroline's mind is filled with pre and post surgery thoughts. Everything is unfamiliar. She's already started to think about all the positive changes coming, and it's freaking her out. A bit. "Overwhelmed" is how Caroline describes what she's feeling - an ov...
E3 - A Fly On The Wall
November 14, 2017 02:07 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBThis year is a special year. This year, Christmas and cochlear implant season go hand in hand. That means schedules are chaotic and time is limited. Rather than a normal studio sit-down with Caroline about her progress to implant surgery on December 12, we just wired her up and sent her on her way. This episode you'll be a fly on the wall, listening with Caroline as she talks with friends and strangers about hearing loss, and being a cochlear implant candidate. Everyone has a story. ...
E2 - Save the Date
November 01, 2017 17:26 - 15 minutes - 28 MBCaroline has had a hectic couple of weeks. Now that she's an official candidate for a cochlear implant, she told family and friends. Episode 1 delivered the news, Episode 2 comes after a slight delay: Caroline went back home to Ontario to tell her family and friends the news and talk through it. Caroline's Mother, Karola, also chimes in with the limits of empathy, and Caroline shares a some important news that you can file under "Save the Date."
E1 - Meet My Beautiful Cyborg
October 10, 2017 11:33 - 13 minutes - 24.9 MBCaroline is hard of hearing. To be more accurate, without hearing aids, Caroline is deaf. After a lifetime of degenerative hearing loss, hearing aids won’t do the trick anymore. So, Caroline is going to become a cyborg. She’s on the path to receive a cochlear implant. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Caroline is going to become a cyborg. She’s getting a cochlear implant will replace the parts of hr hearing that doesn’t work. Caroline can’t wait. In Episode 1 of My Beautiful Cyb...
Teaser: My Beautiful Cyborg
October 06, 2017 11:26 - 1 minute - 3.59 MBCaroline has been losing her hearing since her teens. Hearing aids aren't powerful enough. It's time to become a cyborg. https://episodes.seriouslysimplepodcasting.com/mybeautifulcyborg/20171006-show-teaser_my-beautiful-cyborg.mp3