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.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
We're Home!!
Okay...I need to start out by apologizing to all of you who follow for not posting! But I think I may be back in the groove of life with our new addition!
Hope is doing wonderful. She is such a joy to have in our home! She is sleeping at night very well. She is not getting up through the night. She stills kind of needs a nap but does not get one every day. She gets pretty defiant when there is no nap. She is attaching to all of us. We were out the other night at our friend's house and it was late. She signed "drive home" to us and wanted all five of us to get in the vehicle and go!! She is a hoot!
She has no trouble with communicating with us. However, she does have temper tantrums when told no sometimes. When she tantrums, she has ALOT of anger. I think that is when we see the frustration of the communication barrier!
We have had numerous appointments with physicians. The ENT would like her to get cochlear implants asap. We go to a consultation and evaluation this Wednesday at the KU med center. She also has a CAT scan scheduled for tomorrow morning in which she will be put under for the procedure. The ENT needs to make sure the inner ears are properly structured before going any further with cochlear implant consideration. She finishes her audiology testing on the 27th. At this point, she is declared as profoundly deaf which is just what we suspected.
Out sign language tutor comes tonight for our first meeting with Hope! I'm afraid Hope is going to pass us up at some point because she is so smart!! She knows several signs already!
I plan on staying home with her until preschool starts!! Our goal is to provide a full day of preschool services including regular ed and special ed. Hopefully she will be able to do it. If not, we will reevaluate to determine which placement is most effective and appropriate. Otherwise, I have babysitting set up if needed.
We took Hope swimming last week and she loved it. We took her out on the boat yesterday and she tubed with Paul and then with JT. She definitely fits in well with us. She tells it like it is confident. I wouldn't want it any other way for her life here in America!
Please continue to pray for proper attachment and bonding with all of us.
Hope is doing wonderful. She is such a joy to have in our home! She is sleeping at night very well. She is not getting up through the night. She stills kind of needs a nap but does not get one every day. She gets pretty defiant when there is no nap. She is attaching to all of us. We were out the other night at our friend's house and it was late. She signed "drive home" to us and wanted all five of us to get in the vehicle and go!! She is a hoot!
She has no trouble with communicating with us. However, she does have temper tantrums when told no sometimes. When she tantrums, she has ALOT of anger. I think that is when we see the frustration of the communication barrier!
We have had numerous appointments with physicians. The ENT would like her to get cochlear implants asap. We go to a consultation and evaluation this Wednesday at the KU med center. She also has a CAT scan scheduled for tomorrow morning in which she will be put under for the procedure. The ENT needs to make sure the inner ears are properly structured before going any further with cochlear implant consideration. She finishes her audiology testing on the 27th. At this point, she is declared as profoundly deaf which is just what we suspected.
Out sign language tutor comes tonight for our first meeting with Hope! I'm afraid Hope is going to pass us up at some point because she is so smart!! She knows several signs already!
I plan on staying home with her until preschool starts!! Our goal is to provide a full day of preschool services including regular ed and special ed. Hopefully she will be able to do it. If not, we will reevaluate to determine which placement is most effective and appropriate. Otherwise, I have babysitting set up if needed.
We took Hope swimming last week and she loved it. We took her out on the boat yesterday and she tubed with Paul and then with JT. She definitely fits in well with us. She tells it like it is confident. I wouldn't want it any other way for her life here in America!
Please continue to pray for proper attachment and bonding with all of us.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Awesome Power of Prayer!!!
What a difference a day makes.......prayers for bonding are being answered.....Let's keep it up!!! There has been a breakthrough. Hope is allowing Lee to cuddle and touch in a nurturing way. When Lee left the room, Hope got upset. Paul and Hope had to go looking for her. Lee sounds so much better.....calmer, happier....peaceful! There will continue to be some challenges.....but with each challenge comes a giant leap of progress.
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