Hilton Head 2009

Activated

As you've noticed in the photo, Stephen is ON. The external device looks a little different from Molly's. Cochlear recently came up with a new option for parents to hook the processor/microphone to the back of the clothing. This "babyworn" clip has a safety pin attached. This way the child only has to have the magnet/coil attached to their head. We did try to put the BTE portion on Stephen and he was not tolerant. We will gradually have to get him to wear it. He really needs the microphone to be behind the ear, especially when he is sitting in a chair/car seat.

Let me back up to activation day. Our appointment was scheduled for 10:00am and Stephen had not had his morning nap so, needless to say, he was fussy and irritable the whole session. Many of you have asked how he reacted when he was first turned-on. His reaction to sound was not as evident to us as it was when Molly was turned-on. Thankfully our Adiologist noticed some reaction amidst the crankiness.

Stephen seems to be on track with his reactions and vocalization in this early stage. He is attempting to localize some higher pitch (ex. Rattle) and loud sounds. I am hearing more vocalization in the form of grunts and mmmm's. He is starting to imitate the long and short syllables of his "learning to listen" sounds from therapy. (for example, the long sound of Mooo for cow vs. the short sounds of Choo Choo for Train) In the past couple days, I've heard him say Ba and Ga. I am so thankful that I took detail notes of Molly's early progress with therapy, so now I have a reference to gauge Stephen's progress. Although they are two totally different kids in personality.

We are TRULY BLESSED to have both children in the hearing world!

Merry Christmas

We hope you all have a blessed Christmas. On the eve of Christmas, here is a Not-so-Christ-centered Christmas carol. This would be Molly's monotone version of Jingle Bells. We have struggled to get inflection in her speech and in singing.

Stephen has been activated and is hearing----Praise God!!! I will write more later on this. What a Special Christmas this is for our family!

Surgery Report

Goodness, it is easier to upload photos and videos than it is to take the time to write. I have not forgotten about giving you a surgery/post-op report.

We give praise to our God for His goodness to our family in these last couple weeks. Mike had a few vacation days before he started his new job. Surgery was scheduled during his couple weeks of vacation, thankfully. Molly stayed with her grandparents so we could have some alone time with Stephen. We went down to UVA on Wednesday for a pre-op appointment and stayed the night in a hotel not far from the hospital. They asked us to arrive at 6am on Thursday because Stephen was first case. Our little fella was totally unaware of how his life would be completely changed in a matter of hours. Mike and I sat in the family waiting lounge for 3 ½ hours, thinking the same anxious thoughts that we did when Molly was under the knife. Only this time we had a few more concerns about Stephen’s anatomy. His surgeon mentioned in pre-op visit that Stephen had a small/short cochlea (seen on the CT). The surgeon did not express concern, but we were a little worried that they would not be able to get a good connection to the hearing nerve. This again was all in the Lord’s control. After the surgery, the surgeon came to the lounge to speak with us. He said that all went beautifully and when they tested the hearing nerve after the device was put in, they were able to get an excellent response. As you can imagine, we were elated to hear this. This gives us great hope that the device will work when Stephen is turned-on on December 19th. ( The audiologist waits a month for the wound to heal before she activates/attaches the external device.) So we went to the post-op area to find our wounded soldier in the arms of a nurse drinking pedialyte. He was not pleased to have the dressing wrapped around his head. Thankfully he wasn’t groggy like Molly was at this stage. They gave Molly morphine and it knocked her out for the rest of the day. They managed Stephen’s pain with infant Tylenol and that was all he needed for the next couple of days. After an hour of monitoring Stephen we were free to go, on the condition that we stay fairly close in case Stephen had complications. Yup, outpatient surgery! Amazing!


I must mention how thankful we were that Stephen was finally well for surgery day and he has continued to stay well. He bounced back pretty quickly when we brought him home. We are now 2 ½ weeks in recovery and Stephen’s stitches have absorbed and the bruising/swelling is gone. Now all I have to be concerned about is Stephen falling on the implant side as he learns to walk (it has already happened). Always an adventure!

Thanks for your many prayers and concern for our family during this time. You are an encouragement!

Say Cheeseburger