8 months post-op

I've been really slacking off the ol' updating of progress. It really is a good thing, because it means it's on my mind less and less, and I'm getting back to 'normal' so to speak.
I started physical therapy to hopefully improve my facial movement about 3 weeks ago. She gave me a list of about 10 exercises to do, 20 repetitions each movement, 3 times a day. Trust me, staring at your face in a mirror not moving very well is a depressing way to start your day. I had a 2 week check up last week, and there is some small improvements already. I have one complete wrinkle on my forehead, and the 2nd one is almost connected symmetrically now. When I say 'small' improvement, I'm not kidding. She said it is possible for improvements to continue for years. The lack of movement is now, in my opinion, all 'superficial' so to speak. It's not detrimental in my daily living because I have 5 wrinkles on my left forehead and only 1.5 on my right when I scrunch my forehead. All functional facial movement, I can smile, close my eye etc. has returned. I have another checkup in about a month to check progress again.
The sour taste in my mouth has improved greatly in the past month. I'm not sure if it's just strictly because more time has past, or if it's a byproduct of the facial exercises I've been doing. Either way, I am very grateful for the improvement there. The constant taste of a moldy gym sock in my mouth was getting old ; - )
On Wednesday of this week I received a BAHA tester that I am able to wear at home and work. It is attached to a sweet(cough cough) looking headband, and it just in general looks awesome. But it is absolutely amazing. When you turn it on and hold it in your hand, you can actually feel it vibrate when there is noise/sound. When it's on my head, you don't 'feel' the vibration though. It's magical, I swear. It's almost indescribable how I felt when I wore it at work. I could actually have someone talk to me on my right side, and I could look toward the left and I could still hear them. As if my right ear was still functioning. It's amazing how much I really do have to compensate by moving my left side toward the talker. It was an indescribable relief to not have to constantly re-adjust my ear towards the person talking to me. It really felt like someone took a giant boulder of stress off my shoulders. I'm not exaggerating. I knew I wanted the surgery and the BAHA before the demo. But now I KNOW the surgery will be worth it. The audiologist said my BAHA will sound better than the demo also, because it'll be a newer model than the demo, and it's not conducting thru hair and skin; it'll be directly attached to my skull bone via the post, not a silly headband. I go back this week to return the demo and schedule the surgery. I'm also contemplating which hairstyle I'd like to cover up the BAHA...maybe I'll give this one a try: