A Christmas Blessing

What a difference a year makes. Last Christmas I was feeling like the Grinch. I didn't send out cards, buy many gifts or take part in many of the holiday festivities. This year is completely different. I'm so excited and so is Aubrey! I am feeling so blessed because of how well everything has gone with her surgery and progress. Plus, we just had another ENT appointment and her left ear tube is no longer blocked. No more surgeries for Aubrey in the near future and no ENT visits for 6 months, if all goes well.

Aubrey continues to respond to environmental sounds that she typically did not respond to previously. We were sitting in the living room the other day and something dropped in the kitchen. She immediately responded and said "what that" and then went "boom, boom". She also heard a car with a bad muffler in the lane next to us today and started saying "motorcycle." It's all very cool. She's also starting to hear the doorbell, which is a first. She never wants her implant off and if I even touch it, she says "don't touch it, keep it on." The surgeon said this is a very good sign and she should do well. Voice distinction will take some time, but she is responding to my voice more each day.

Aubrey is becoming quite sassy with her new found confidence. With her new haircut and ear she thinks she rules the roost. At school, she walked into a room and someone was in "her seat" and she walked right up to them and said "that's my spot." The teachers had never seen her do this before. Plus, she usually always dances and sings in private or in her small group. Now all of a sudden she is singing and dancing in front of everyone and in the hallways at school. It's a true Christmas miracle.

Here are a few pictures of her new hair and ear. :) Happy Holidays everyone!!

And, then it happened...

Aubrey's implant has been activated! Everything went very well. The biggest relief is that the implant works - the auditory nerve is receiving and processing the signal. Aubrey reacted when Melissa (audiologist) first turned it on and a series of beeping sounds began. It was then a little overwhelming for Aubrey and she started to say "too loud" and wanted to be done. As long as she was distracted she was fine. This is a very normal reaction since it's such a different way of hearing. The sound can be fuzzy at first and some people have compared it to Donald Duck. I would be scared too. :) The brain is working hard to relearn and process sound. Aubrey may not be able to make the distinction between different sounds at first or even notice if it's Tim or myself talking. The hard work continues, but we are just thrilled with how things went yesterday. By the time we got home, I was able to get the implant back on and Aubrey kept it on most of the night. By bed time, she did not want to take it off. She kept saying "keep it on." Hard to believe that just a few hours prior she wanted it off.

I was able to get some video during activation and now I just need to figure out how to upload and post it here. Very exciting. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers!

Life as we know it, but now with a bionic ear...

Tomorrow is the big day...the moment we've been waiting for. Aubrey's implant will be activated. We are so excited, but we're also keeping it real. We may not notice much difference at first. Her brain will need to relearn and adjust to the new bionic ear. It's a process. There is a quote that I keep referring to: "10% of the process is the hardware and 90% is the software." Tim and I will be constant teachers and aural rehabilitation will be Aubrey's main activity. There will be plenty of time for more fun activities later, but for now this is it. We have a good student. I was reminded of this today when I dropped her off at school. She was the last one to arrive and the kiddos had just sat down for circle/learning time. One of her friends tried to get her to sit in the back, but Aubrey picked up her carpet square and marched right up to the front. She sat down and was ready to learn. I asked the teachers if she always does this, and they said that she does like being in the front. I said "so, she is the geek of the group." They laughed. I thought this is just what we need as we begin this new journey. So, away we go...

I will post an update tomorrow. Thank you for thinking of us on this big day.

Oh, and please remind me to have some fun along the way. I tend to take myself and all of this way too seriously! Shocking, I know.

Two-week Follow-up

We had Aubrey's surgery follow-up yesterday. Everything looks good and she is all set for activation next Wednesday. Her left ear tube is blocked due to drainage from surgery. We will need to monitor it and it may need to be replaced. For now, we will do ear drops and hope this does the trick. Never a dull moment.

Aubrey also received her "welcome" CI package that included a Koala Bear with an implant. She loves it, but has now removed the pretend implant processor from the bear and is trying to place it on her ear. She asks everyday to go to the doctor to get the implant turned on. She says: "implant, maybe today?" It's almost  as if she understands that it may help her. She is a smart and intuitive little lady. She has handled this process beautifully.

The countdown continues...seven days until activation.

Thankful

Aubrey returned to school today and I went back to work. You would never know she had surgery just one week ago. The recovery has gone so well. She was back to her normal self within two days when this photo was taken. She also did not need the pain medicine from the hospital. We just gave her regular Tylenol for two nights. Aubrey is very antsy about getting the implant turned on. She keeps asking about the implant and then says "have to wait." Activation day is December 15, and it cannot come soon enough. She has her moments of frustration, but she is hanging in there. She was thrilled to return to school today and see her friends. She went through the classroom naming off who has implants. Too cute.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We have so much to be thankful for.

Surgery Day

We're home. Surgery went very well, and lasted only 2 hours. The surgeon said this was one of the easier ones they've had in awhile. Aubrey was amazing coming out of surgery and she did not even cry. I cannot believe it.  She is a true champ! Now the meds are wearing off, so this is when the fun begins. And, she already managed to get the big old bandaging off her head. I will post some pictures soon along with more details.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!

Two days until cochlear implant surgery

Great news! The ear fluid is clear and Aubrey's ears look "perfect". We have kept her home from school the past few days to help prevent exposure to viruses and bacterial infections. Just two more days to go. We are scheduled for the first surgery on Monday morning at 7:30am, which means we need to arrive at 5:30am. I doubt I'll be able to sleep Sunday night. I will post updates as soon as I can. The surgery will last for 3-3.5 hours. If all goes well, we'll go home the same day and she'll have a week of recovery at home. Crazy. Please keep Aubrey in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through surgery and begins this new and exciting chapter in her life!

Ear tubes again!

In preparation for implant surgery, we found out that Aubrey has fluid in her ears! Implant surgery cannot happen if there is fluid and/or infection, as this can cause implant infection. This is a big deal! The surgeon was able to squeeze Aubrey in for ear tube surgery on Monday, Nov. 15. This was probably our only chance of keeping our implant surgery date on Nov. 22. I've waited too long for this, so I was determined to do whatever was necessary. So, here sits Aubrey in her hospital garb on Monday. Everything went well and she was a champ. Now, lets hope the fluid clears in time....

Hello World! It's official, I'm a Blogger!

I consider myself to be a fairly private person, and I have not talked too much about what has happened over the last few years. As I sit here today on the two-year anniversary of what may have been the hardest day of my life, I feel I'm finally ready to share and embrace what's to come.

I'm officially a "blogger", so away we go...