Third day with two ears

Today is Jack's third day with his new ear. He has been consistently wearing both of his implants all day, but he does not like to just wear the new one alone yet. He still has some swelling and the magnet seems to fall off easier, even after I added another magnet. Good news is when the new implant falls off he does put it back on most of the time.

Yesterday we had our first AVT apt. he fell asleep in the car which didn't help his mood and then when we got there we had him work alone with just his new ear. Well he cried half of the time...he was not a happy camper. We worked on ling sounds, listening tasks, and animals, things that are very familiar. He did listen to Lynn (avt) do ling sounds and put the bingo chips in the bucket to show that he was in fact hearing all of the sounds, but he was not able to repeat them. He still seems to be confused by what he is hearing and that he is not yet able to make out words. It is a little frustrating, I was hoping for him to at least respond to his name after the first day. After Jack's first CI surgery he was able to turn to his name that same evening. His hearing loss is symmetrical, his anatomy is perfect, and he has full insertion in both ears. I know Jack is going to do well with the new one, but I was hoping for a little more than we have gotten.
Last night before bed I did go over ling sounds with him and he did repeat "e" and "a", but for the rest of them he just moaned, he seems so confused by what he is hearing, but that he repeated any ling sounds is a good sign.

This week our homework is for Jack to spend 15 to 30 min a day wearing just the new implant alone. We are going to be reading books that are familiar, play with puzzles, playdough and activities that Jack really enjoys. I hope I don't get too much of a fight I know I will get some. He sure does love his first ear and does not understand yet the importance of "training" his new ear. Hopefully by next post I will have some improvements to report.

Jack hears with two ears!

Well today was the day, Jack is officially hearing with two ears.....yeah! Jack did so well today, he was very go with the flow and took it all in stride. I was very nervous that he was not going to tolerate being without his old ear on and having them program the new one. Well he was not only programmed and it went well, but he walked out of his audiologist wearing both. He has not taken it off all day and he even has put it back on when it has fallen off. I know he is not understanding much out of that ear yet when his old ear was off at his appointment I was talking to him about a picture he was coloring and he was not responding to me. Normally he will talk with me about his picture and I was getting nothing back. Then when we put his old ear on he was talking to me again. I was told that this is normal and in a few day I will notice a difference. I think he is really going to catch up quickly his AVT is going to be pretty aggressive with his therapy and she thinks his new ear will catch up fast. I will keep you all informed of his progress as we go.

Today when we were getting ready to leave the audiologist Jack was sitting on my lap and I was talking to him and normally I have to adjust him so I am talking on his "good" side. Anyway, I realized that I didn't have to do this anymore and Jack can now hear on both sides.....it was a great feeling and it gave me a tingling feeling. I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!!!!

Jack is doing well in school

As I have mentioned before Jack is attending a mainstream montessori preschool in our town. Today he got his first progress report and he is doing really well, better than I thought. I was surprised by all the new things Jack is learning at school and new concepts his teacher has been working on with Jack. I'm very impressed with this school and know that this is the place Jack belongs. I will be excited to see how his bilateral will help him in school next year, I'm sure it will help a lot. Two ears are better than one! Tomorrow Jack is getting turned on I'm a excited, but a little nervous. I hope Jack tolerates it well. We will see.......
The picture of Jack I copied off Jacks schools website I thought it was pretty cute. If you would like to know more about montessori schools and what they are about you can visit www.peacefulpathwaysmontessori.com There are several pictures of Jack on the site. He's a cutie and a smarty too.

Thank You!

To all of those who have commented on this site, thank you. It is nice to get some feedback and to hear that others are getting some useful information from it, as that is what I intended. I will be posting in regards to Jack turn-on (of bi-lateral) next week. Stay tuned........

Again, thanks.

Julie

Jack's Picture on Advanced Bionics Website

Check it out, Jack's cute mug is on the Advanced Bionics Website this month (May). I'm so proud of him. He's such a cool kid and so handsome (just like his dad)!

He has healed well since is bi-lateral surgery and doing great. He had very little pain after surgery and only needed pain medication for the day after. His incision looks great and the swelling has gone down. Now we are all anxiously awaiting turn on.....April 23rd.

I will keep you all posted.

Surgeries over and Jack is doing great!!!

Hi!! Jack had surgery yesterday and is doing so well today, it's amazing. Jack was so brave the whole day, we are so proud of him. The day went really smooth from start to finish, Jack had a bit of a hard time in the recovery room (wanted his IV out), but other than that things were good. Dr. Young said that Jacks anatomy was perfect and the surgery was text book. She got full insertion of the electrodes and now we are anxiously awaiting his turn on. Dr. Young prescribed tylonol w/codeine and I have only given him one dose today and I really didn't need to then, but I thought he might sleep........yeah right! He has kept himself busy playing with his video games today and is really back to his old self. We have our follow-up appointment with Dr. Young on May 12th and his turn on date is May 23rd, we can't wait!