Sunday, October 4, 2009
Surgery Day!
Well surgery day is tomorrow, October 5th. We are expected at KU Med Center at 6:30am which means we have to leave the house at 5:00am. Hope is healthy and doing well today. She is in good spirits. However, she has no idea what tomorrow brings. We delayed the surgery by three weeks to have access to the newest cochlear device and implant that was released by FDA on September 8th. The new device and implant is 40% smaller. YAY! We are excited, yet very nervous for this next phase! Please pray to guide the doctor's hands, smooth surgery with no complications, and quick recovery!! We will check in to let everyone know how she is doing!!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Well it has been a great day...our insurance company has approved bilateral cochlear implants for Hope! Surgery is scheduled for September 15th. Paul and I are trying to wrap our brains around all that God has done in our lives but also in Hope's life!! Just to think that 9 weeks ago she was sitting in a remote orphanage in southern China and now she is enrolled in preschool and will be blessed with wonderful medical technology. It is hard to believe that technology is so advanced that the most profoundly deaf child will become a hearing child. Don't get me wrong...she won't be "fixed" like we hear necessarily but she will be able to discriminate sound over time. Also, over time, with much endurance, perseverance, and training, she can potentially learn to talk!!! God has brought us this far....He continues to work miracles in this little girls life. So many people say that she is sssooo lucky to have been adopted but the lucky ones are Paul, Megan, JT, and I. She is such a blessing in our lives.
She is enrolled in the regular preschool class in the morning and then goes to special education preschool in the afternoon. She has shed lots of tears but the great thing is that she sees me come and pick her up and feels secure in that. The great thing about working in her district is that I can see her many times throughout the day. I eat lunch with her everyday and drive her to afternoon preschool in a neighboring district.
I am prepared to take time off work during implantation and then activation. Probably the most difficult time for her will be the time of activation. She will likely struggle with hearing for the first time and will want to take it off but it will have to be mandated much like a seat belt in a car.
I would be lying if I told everyone that I was not scared and nervous about the whole process. It is a major undertaking and we, as a family, are committed to the process.
In the meantime, our whole family is going to take a sign language class at the Kansas School for the Deaf. It will be an intermediate course and is very cheap. We need to continue to learn ASL because Hope is learning so fast that she may pass us up if we are not carefull.
Please continue to pray for the entire process and that God guide and comfort us during this most difficult time!!
Praise God for all He has done...We are just a blessed family and words cannot describe this experience of adoption! I will post pics soon when I can get a chance to download pics!
She is enrolled in the regular preschool class in the morning and then goes to special education preschool in the afternoon. She has shed lots of tears but the great thing is that she sees me come and pick her up and feels secure in that. The great thing about working in her district is that I can see her many times throughout the day. I eat lunch with her everyday and drive her to afternoon preschool in a neighboring district.
I am prepared to take time off work during implantation and then activation. Probably the most difficult time for her will be the time of activation. She will likely struggle with hearing for the first time and will want to take it off but it will have to be mandated much like a seat belt in a car.
I would be lying if I told everyone that I was not scared and nervous about the whole process. It is a major undertaking and we, as a family, are committed to the process.
In the meantime, our whole family is going to take a sign language class at the Kansas School for the Deaf. It will be an intermediate course and is very cheap. We need to continue to learn ASL because Hope is learning so fast that she may pass us up if we are not carefull.
Please continue to pray for the entire process and that God guide and comfort us during this most difficult time!!
Praise God for all He has done...We are just a blessed family and words cannot describe this experience of adoption! I will post pics soon when I can get a chance to download pics!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Off to work I go!!!
Hello everyone!! Sorry for the delay in an update...life with the new little one takes a lot of my time!! I will get new pics posted very soon I promise.
Hope has an ABR test tomorrow at Children's Mercy Hospital. She will be put under to measure the brain waves in relation to sound. The behavioral assessments that were completed by the audiology department were inconsistent so they opted to do this procedure to determine a more accurate level of deafness. This will also be the final step in determining what the insurance will cover as far as cochlear implants. Paul and I are still gathering information and advice regarding this procedure. However, we are definitely leaning towards having them implanted.
She is sssooo smart. She recognizes and understands 70+ signs and is actually signing 30+ signs to us!!! She has only been part of our family since June 29th. That is 6 weeks people!!! I am thrilled with her progress. She has adjusted miraculously. She isn't the same child we brought home 4 weeks ago. Each and every day, I fall more in love with her!! She is darling. Her personality will knock your socks off and you will laugh for hours watching her!!! It is amazing how God orchestrated our family to include a child who fits so perfectly into our lives!! Thank you God for my wonderful family!!!
I start back to work on Friday. I am ready to get life back to normal and to get her started in preschool to see her shine even more. Her BIG IEP meeting is August 21st. It is a rather strange feeling being in the role of the parent as opposed to the Director!!!
Everyone has adjusted very well to the addition to the family...JT and Megan are fabulous with her. I thank God that those two have accepted her from the start and they are a huge help to me in getting her adjusted.
Hope has an ABR test tomorrow at Children's Mercy Hospital. She will be put under to measure the brain waves in relation to sound. The behavioral assessments that were completed by the audiology department were inconsistent so they opted to do this procedure to determine a more accurate level of deafness. This will also be the final step in determining what the insurance will cover as far as cochlear implants. Paul and I are still gathering information and advice regarding this procedure. However, we are definitely leaning towards having them implanted.
She is sssooo smart. She recognizes and understands 70+ signs and is actually signing 30+ signs to us!!! She has only been part of our family since June 29th. That is 6 weeks people!!! I am thrilled with her progress. She has adjusted miraculously. She isn't the same child we brought home 4 weeks ago. Each and every day, I fall more in love with her!! She is darling. Her personality will knock your socks off and you will laugh for hours watching her!!! It is amazing how God orchestrated our family to include a child who fits so perfectly into our lives!! Thank you God for my wonderful family!!!
I start back to work on Friday. I am ready to get life back to normal and to get her started in preschool to see her shine even more. Her BIG IEP meeting is August 21st. It is a rather strange feeling being in the role of the parent as opposed to the Director!!!
Everyone has adjusted very well to the addition to the family...JT and Megan are fabulous with her. I thank God that those two have accepted her from the start and they are a huge help to me in getting her adjusted.
Monday, July 20, 2009
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