Can you hear me now?

Most families get really annoyed by the Verizon commercials "Can you hear me now....can you hear me now?" Well this is reality in our family. This saying is becoming one of the most used phrases we say. The weird thing is...it's not annoying at all.

Things are moving right along in project hearing. Ms Mae received her hearing aids this week and since then, I feel like things are moving quickly. The way I like them too. Her hearing aids are super cute, very tiny and pink. It was amazing when we first put them on. She got all big eyed and started smiling right away! It was actually an amazing moment. However since then I have been trying to test her ever move to see if she hears things and the results are inclusive. Do I think she hears something? Yes. Is she hearing enough to produce speak and language? No.

Next week we go to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis to meet and have a consult with their cochlear implant team. This is just a meeting where I can ask questions and see we want to get our implants from Riley. Well here's the thing...the earlier you get the implants the better. The auditory nerve needs to be stimulated to keep working with the brain and the earlier you can implant the children, the better success rate they will have to develop language and speech up to their peers level. Riley is known for waiting until 12 months to get implants (thats the youngest the FDA approves) but many hospitals or doing them earlier and earlier because of the benefit for the child. Chicago children's hospital in one of them. They are implanting as early as 6 month....Halalluhah. I see the light. Next week will determin alot in our future.

We have been very fortunate to work with our Early Intervention program, First Steps, to help us financially with a lot of this process. They have introducted us to some great resources and great people that I know will guide us along the way. Meg is our "parent mentor" and she is awesome. She has a son that is 9 years old and has bilateral implants. He got his first implant at 9 months old and his second at 3 years old. She shows us videos of him and he is doing amazing. She gives us guidance and talks to us about the whole process. She comes to the house once a month.

Jeannie is our Developmental Educator, Speech Pathoglist, Deaf Educator, Friend, and many more things that I am not really sure of her exact title....but she is awesome. She work for iHear and it all done through the internet, kinda like facetime. She answers any questions we have and we have learned a ton from her. She is great to work with and very positive...I mean come on, she's a Buckeye..DUH of course she's great.

I can already see the benefit that Riley's hearing loss has brought to our family. I am more aware, more focused and have met some great people that have helped me with her disability but also being the best mom I can be. I have gotten such great support from my friends, family and other blog moms. I couldn't do it without you. Thank you.

Riley now has a YouTube channel where I am going to post all of her videos. I thank god for technology everyday and seriously feel like I can take over the world with my iPhone.

Riley's Mama