Jodi Speaks Her Mind

…Must…blog… 4/23/2008

Wow, nothing happens simply in our house.  I have so much to share.  Let’s see… do I begin with my youngest profoundly deaf daughter, who is now learning how to listen to sounds - successfully (among many other accomplishments)!?  Or with my older daughter, who is now being partially home schooled?

I guess we’ll start with Sophie… Sophie is just doing wonderfully with her new implants.  She can already imitate two speech sounds (ah and mm) and makes a very early attempt at the word “open” (mostly she just bobs her head up and down indicating two syllables, but it is a genuine attempt at the word!)  She is spending a lot of her time these days just vocalizing and “listening” to her own voice among many other sounds.  She currently goes about with an almost constant hum.

Adelina is doing quite well.  She just lost both front teeth (on the top) within 3 days of each other, so she has a big hole in her mouth right now.  What a great look!  She is doing well in gymnastics and is thoroughly enjoying our pool (as we all are).  On a slight negative, she was not doing so well at her new school, and upon investigation it became clear that it had to do with the quality of instruction.  I’m not going say more than that, but the result is we made an adjustment to her schedule so she would come home earlier and I am teaching her math, reading, and some language at home.  So far, so good, and the additional time has fostered deeper bonding between us as well.  I am really starting to get into it and will probably be posting more about it as we get going.  Things are slow right now as I am figuring out what she can and can’t do and many things she previously knew will have to re-taught because of neglect or poor instruction.

No idea what we’ll be doing next year.  We’re crossing each bridge as it comes up.

More to tell, but that’s all for today!

Sophie is listening! 3/15/2008

Sophie got both her implants activated yesterday with BTE Harmony Processors.  The 2 hour appointment was a bit trying at times and she went through periods where she did NOT want to have anything on her ears anymore.  I was getting concerned that this was going to be harder than anticipated.  Then we got to the part where we determine if she can hear.  We looked for a response - none - so the volume was slightly increased and this was repeated until we got a response.  The responses we got were grimaces and cries.  Whatever this new input was, she didn’t much like it!  But that is not unusual for the beginning days so we moved forward with the other ear and repeated the process.  Once she was disconnected from the cables and just using her newly mapped processors the same way her sister does, she seemed rather pleased with herself and tolerated them really well.

Later in the day we started exposing her to more sounds and she would giggle.  We were just amazed with how well she was doing with this new input.  Most children are implanted around age 1 and cannot understand what is happening so they are very quick to pull off the headpiece or processors in order to not have the input or just to remove the “thing” on their head or ear.  With Sophie, she had been exposed to the processor through Adelina and we had used what language she has to explain that she, too, would have processors, and they would help her to listen and hear things.  She couldn’t know what that meant but now that she is experiencing it, she has some signs to associate with it and I think it will help her “get it” way faster than is typical.  We have also prayed a lot for God to open her ears and her brain to make it all work.  God is a God of miracles, and for the deaf to hear is nothing short of a miracle! Of course, I could just be overly optimistic and she isn’t really “getting” anything yet, but she sure seems to.  Steve stood behind her at one point and called her name “Sophie!” and Sophie giggled and turned around to him.  So then she wanted to switch places and she went behind Steve and made vocalizations.  This behavior leads me to believe that she does “get it”.  Though it will still take a long time for it to all make sense and for her to actually distinguish what someone is saying.  But the die is cast and the game is on!

It is an exciting time in our house!

Brief Life Update 3/12/2008

Sorry for the silence.  Things are going very well in our house.  Our pool is finished and we’ve enjoyed it twice.  Weather here is beautiful and Easter is coming soon, so spring is very much in the air.  Adelina is feeling much better and has had another “language leap”, which just means that she has noticeably improved language compared to the previous months.

Sophie gets her CI’s activated on Friday and I am just so excited.  I feel like I’m waiting for Christmas.  My child will finally have access to sound, so it is a remarkable day for sure.  Sophie continues to be such a joy to our family.  She is full of zest for life, and she just smiles and laughs all the time.  She and Addy are getting along more smoothly too.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, we’re also getting a sweet tax refund this year thanks to the adoption tax credit.  Woohoo!

I’ll write more after Sophie’s activation.  Also, pictures are moving up fast on the priority list, so hang in there, they are coming soon!

The Future of Cochlear Implants

This is a very interesting article and helpful for those of you who still aren’t quite sure what a CI even is.

Cochlear Implant Activated via the Internet 3/4/2008

Way Cool!

Sophie had her surgery 2/23/2008

Sophie’s surgery was Thursday and she came through it like a trooper.  They successfully implanted both sides with full insertion, which is the goal.  She was recovering from a cold, so the anesthesiologist was ready to call it off if she showed any signs of respiratory distress, but fortunately, she did not.  Because her surgery was so long - 4 hours - her recovery has been a bit longer and slower than Adelina’s but last night she was running about and playing.  Her face is pretty swollen, but she is up and about and frankly making everyone crazy because she wants to do everything she normally does.  But her incision is still so fresh, we have to watch her quite closely!

Her activation is scheduled for March 21, so she will not have any access to sounds until that time.  Hopefully it will arrive quickly, as we are excited for her to begin taking advantage of her implants.

We were really pleased and impressed with the care she (and we) received at the hospital by the doctors, nurses, and all the support staff.  Our only glitch in the whole thing was that we had to wait in post-op for nearly 7 hours for a room to open up.  This was a tad inconvenient for Steve and I but not really so bad for Sophie.  Actually, we had a nurse at our disposal the entire time, so that was certainly a benefit.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and thoughts during this major event in little Sophie’s life.  We are all very grateful to God for her safe and successful surgery.