Update on My Kids - Part 3

Sitting here with a smile on my face as I listen to a very intense but giggle-filled speech therapy session. This session is after hours and on a much personal level with pillows and blankets surrounding the participants. I happen to dearly love both parties involved. One is my precious daughter and the other is my dedicated husband.

Although I have no regrets - I mean completely, 100%, ZERO regrets, I certainly had no idea we would be treating my 15 year old daughter like a toddler and struggle as much as we have the past few months. I also had no clue that my son would soar past the expected goals only to be released from speech therapy three weeks after the first implant since he was already talking and hearing on the phone! A household full of mixed emotions is putting it quite mildly.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I signed to Adam. His second implant surgery went even better than the first and activation was all it was meant to be. This child, so full of life, smiles even more now than he ever has (he has been known as the 'smiling boy' by many people!) He's confident, secure and engaging in conversations that he dared not even think about 5 months ago. After only 3 months of guitar lessons, he is being moved to the intermediate classes starting in January! I have also noticed an improvement in his reading skills as well as his sense of humor :)

Here is where the mixed emotions break into the scene.

Victoria is a different story. She struggled with the first surgery, implants and activation, while the second surgery was even worse. She had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia and threw up 8 times before we even got her home. Her equilibrium was massively affected, so she had trouble walking by herself and the dizziness lasted almost a week. Poor girl even got a 24 hour stomach bug in the middle of her recovery time! She finally turned the corner and made it to activation day. I will say that I was a little shocked to learn that we were starting all over again - just like the first implant. I fully expected her to be able to hear even better with two implants (and eventually she will). Instead, she stated that she 'feels' the sounds and really only hears beeps. Sheepishly, I sat and listened as our audiologist explained that you have two hemispheres to your brain so each side works independently when referring to auditory paths. I should have known that!

We have now been back twice for remapping (fine-tuning) and I can finally say that things are looking up (which is why I haven't blogged until now). She is still very timid around a group of girls since she can't understand everything they are saying, but I do believe that one day she will be able to have a complete conversation with a friend and never have to ask for repeated sentences.

The biggest hurdle is remaining consistent. Determination will pay off but the process is shattering to your patience bucket. Last
week I spent 7 minutes working with her on one word. It was tedious and patient-taxing. I know now that her brain can hear these sounds but they have no idea what they are since she's never heard them before. We have to re-train her brain to know what a "g" sounds like, etc. With that knowledge, I can't make excuses anymore, like in the past. I had to teach her what a soft c and m sound like and I wasn't giving up. We both finally broke into a giggle and I accepted her pronunciation of the word. 7 minutes was long enough.

We are still under directions to repeat every word or sentence three times before we resort to signing. In my determination to NOT sign, it took us 11 minutes the other day to go through dictation. It was two scriptures verses that Adam did in 3 minutes, but I kept having to repeat myself numerous times for Victoria. It was mentally draining but I was very proud of her since she never got upset or lost focus. I couldn't say that a month ago.

After explaining to Victoria that her success of these implants solely rests on her determination and effort, I have begun to see some changes. She is now asking what certain sounds are and is increasing the volume each day on her own. Just yesterday she was telling me about a friend and then stopped herself to ask if she was saying the name right. I spoke the name about 6 times until she had it perfect. I chuckled internally knowing that she finally crossed the threshold - she wants to have better speech, therefore, she will!

The speech therapy I spoke about in my opening sentence is something daddy asked us to do. Throughout the day, I write down any word that she has trouble speaking. I work with her for a while and then move on. The list then lands in daddy's hands for him to critique her sometime after dinner. I love listening to them - his persistence and her girly-ness! Not only does she get the chance to work on these words twice, but she gets to hear how they sound from a male voice as well as a female voice.

It's December 7th and winter is here in full throttle - 14 degrees when I awoke this morning. The leaves crunch under our feet, the garden lies empty and the flowers no longer bring a splash of color to my front entrance.

However, there's a massive contrast when you walk through my front door. In here, it's spring! Conversations are budding, patience is anew, smiles are blooming and there's a fresh spring in the step of two children who are experiencing what we take for granted everyday.

Sound

Not only am I thankful for an on-time God, but also for children with more perseverance than most people I know!

And these little babies...no longer don our household :)