At Home

3 days at home. And 3 days without Daddy, which means there are no pictures to match. But necessity is the mother of invention (most of the time :), so you MAY find a gem or two. Maybe.

Highlights of the day include a lengthy serenade by a bird, baby Mozart, rustling a box of legos, and hearing the "pop" of a balloon. We also found a pretty simple, secure fix to hang the microphone on her ear, a relief! She seems to be getting used to the device a little more, not fussing so much when it comes off and on during play.

Grammy is here and helping out BIG TIME with keeping Ocoee stimulated and her brothers engaged. They undertook the sorting of a huge box of legos, which I categorize as an entirely educational activity. Perhaps we can add sound effects later :)

She did great!

We hope you enjoy the following videos as much as we do. It is so precious to see these responses and be able to watch the videos over and again, remembering how far we have come.

Activation went so well. It began with a series of beeps whereby the audiologists were attempting to determine what were the softest levels of stimulation to which she would respond. It turned out to be consistently more than the lowest setting, but that was fine. Her responses became very predictable according to what they have seen through many other children. We got a "great looking map" programmed into her device, with several settings that she can progress through during the week.

Everyone is back at home and doing well. We have had some problems with the implant falling off her ear, but a wide crocheted hair band has worked miracles! The important connection is pretty secure with a magnet. Grammy thinks that she is paying more attention to some things (which says a lot considering she is quite observant already), and we have enjoyed drawing her attention to sounds by saying "I hear it," and doing everything from honking car horns to ringing toy bells to playing the piano to reading books.

Hope to have many more exciting reports! Enjoy the videos and check back soon!

The First Beeps

Hearing Day One

Night Before CI Activation

Almost There

It seems ages ago that we discovered Ocoee was deaf, but really it has only been four months. And we are now on the brink of great excitement...for on April 24th, she is scheduled to have the cochlear implant in her right ear "activated." This means that she will begin to hear sounds for the first time! No one knows what to expect, as we might see anything from quiet observation to frightened screaming. But one thing is for certain: none of us will ever be the same!

After "activation," Ocoee will go through a series of "mappings" wherby the implant device is programmed with settings that will match what she is able to hear. After this, it will be our job to help her learn how to make sense of the world of sound. Since she'll be starting as a newborn baby, she has to learn what sounds are, where they are coming from...basically everything that has to do with creating meaning from what we hear. She will be able to hear environmental sounds, as well as speech, and should be caught up to her peers relatively quickly. She will need pretty intensive speech therapy for the next several years to aid speech comprehension and expression, but by school age will function largely as a hearing child with minimal assistance.

We are still raising money to reach the goal of $45K so that Ocoee can get a second implant (her left ear), and will keep everyone posted on the progress of the funding. Our next fundraiser is going to be a yard sale, penciled in for May 2nd, so if you would like to donate items, don't hesitate to let us know!