One Day Post Surgery

Logan woke up feeling much better today.  It was pretty entertaining to watch him crawl around with that big bandage on his head.  He was a little unstable because he was so top heavy and I felt like I had to follow him closely to make sure he didn't lose his balance and fall on his head.

Were were instructed to remove the bandages 24 hours after the surgery, so we took them off mid afternoon.  I was hesitant to do it, so Andrew volunteered to do it.  I was so happy for that.  I was really nervous to see what his ears and the incision spot would look like when we took it off.

We can tell that his ears and face are swollen and I am hoping that it goes down quickly.  He was happy to have the bandages and the arm braces off, but we eventually had to put the braces back on because he kept trying to pull on his ears.

Later in the day, his big sister Jasmine got home from her Aunt and Uncle's house and we were all very happy to see her. We hadn't seen her since Tuesday evening, which is the longest we've been without her.  I'm so glad our family is back together again.

Logan's Big Day Today

The day we have been waiting on for months has finally arrived.  Yesterday, I got a call from the pre-op nurse asking a million questions about Logan's medical history.  This is when it really sank in that his surgery was actually happening. Originally, we were told that we should arrive at 6 a.m. for an 8 a.m. surgery, but Dr. Perry's office called at 4:55 in the afternoon to tell me that we needed to be there at 5:30 for a 7:30 a.m. surgery.  I know it is only a half our difference, but man do you feel it when you get up in the morning.

We were up at 4:15 a.m. and left the house at 5:10 a.m.  I got Logan up 10 minutes before we left hoping he would go back to sleep, but of course, he was wide awake. We got to the hospital right on time and waited for them to take us up to prep him for surgery.

We got upstairs and he was squirming and trying to get out of my arms. He wanted to go and explore so badly! We changed him into his hospital gown and waited to talk to his doctor and the anaesthesiologist.

When it was time for surgery, Andrew carried him to the doors of the operating room, where we gave him hugs and kisses and took out his hearing aids for the last time.  His Grandma and Aunt Jenny got to see him before he went in also.

We were asked to stay in the waiting room because they would call to give periodic updates.  The first call was at 8 a.m. to tell us that they were starting the first side. The nurse called again around 9:30 to let us know that they had successfully completed the first ear and were about to begin the second ear.  Around 11:30, we saw Dr. Perry come out of the operating room carrying all of Logan's equipment that we would be taking home.  I was so glad to see Dr. Perry and to know that everything went well.

They called Andrew and I back to the recovery room around noon. Poor Logan was just miserable. He was trying to cry but it seemed like he was just too tired and uncomfortable to make a big effort, so he mostly just whined.  He was also mad because they put restraints on his arms so he couldn't bend them and pull on his dressings. He has to keep the restraints on until tomorrow when the bandages come off.  Poor little guy!

They gave him some glucose water, which he finished very quickly. So they gave him a second serving. They also decided to give him some more pain medication, which I was very happy about.

We only had to stay for about an hour and a half after the surgery was completed.  We were all very happy to get him dressed so we could leave.

We have been home for about 4 hours now and Logan has been sleeping most of the day. He had another dose of pain medication and has started back on his milk.  So far, he hasn't been interested in any solids.  I can't wait until he is back to his normal, funny self.

Counting Down!

There are a number of reasons that I am counting down the five days until Logan's surgery.  I am anxious to get this procedure over with and stop worrying about it. And of course, I can't wait to start this new chapter in his life.

However, another unexpected reason I am counting down is that I just can't wait to be done with these hearing aids! Yes, I know the cochlear implants will be a whole new set of headaches, but I am so done losing pieces of these hearing aids.

I hosted an in house playdate for the toddler playgroup I am a member of this morning. We had 11 toddlers, 3 infants, and of course, their moms here this morning.  It was a blast as usual.  But once everyone was gone for about 20 minutes, I noticed that Logan's processor from his left hearing aid was missing. The earhook and earmold were still there, so the processor managed to get unscrewed from the rest of it. I had to tear up the playroom again looking for it, but came up empty. I checked downstairs, in his hamper, and upstairs again and couldn't find it.

During all this, I was battling with Jasmine to stay in her room and take her nap. When I finally got her to stay in her room, I went back downstairs and started crawling on the floor everywhere Logan had been.  Unbelievably, I found it in the middle of the living room floor.  I was so relieved! The whole time I was looking for it I kept thinking I can't believe we made it this far without having to pay the deductible for a lost hearing aid and here we are, less than a week before surgery, and we've finally lost one.

I am so glad I found it and I am so ready to turn them back in to Sunshine Cottage.

First Meetup Today!

Through the last year I have found that talking with families with a hearing impaired child has helped me out tremendously.  Not only does it help you feel less isolated, but it gives you the ability to share your war stories, so to speak. It's the same as a new mom who wants to talk about diapers, napping, their baby's latest accomplishments or even frustrations and questions. You get support and you give support.  Speaking of this, I am a member of a toddler meetup group for my daughter and have made some great friends for myself and for my daughter because of it. I have also gotten lots of support from them as well. I am so glad that I took that step to join the group. 

Because of this experience, last month I decided to start my own meetup group for infants and toddlers with hearing loss. I recall when Logan was first diagnosed, one of the first things I did (after calling a dear friend who has a daughter with hearing loss) was to look for a support group.  Unfortunately, there was nothing here.  I had entertained the idea of starting something then, but I just wasn't ready. The wound was still too new.  So it slipped to the back of my mind, and life went on.

To make a long story short, I hosted my first meetup for my new group today at a local park. It was small, as we do not have very many members yet, but it was quite a success!  One of the moms that I know from Sunshine Cottage was there and we also had a father join just the other day who was there with his son, daughter and wife!  What made this so great was that they just found out within the last week that their 2 year old son has hearing loss.  It makes me very happy that I created a group that has already served to support a family who is going through that very difficult period of shock, sadness, anger, isolation and just about every other emotion you can think of.

I hope that I can reach more people with my group and that it serves its purpose to provide support, encouragement, and a sense of family for others who are going through this as well.

Logan is 1!

With the end of Logan's first birthday here, I have been thinking about this last year quite a bit. I remember the anticipation I felt as I waited out those last few weeks of pregnancy. I remember my contractions getting regular late in the evening and finally calling my mom to come stay with Jasmine. I remember the joy we felt when we first saw him and held him. I remember the worry we felt when he failed his newborn hearing screening.

Waiting those weeks for the next hearing test was torture. And when the audiologist confirmed that he had significant hearing loss, I remember my world crashing down. I wondered if I would ever hear him speak and what life would be like for him. I am so happy to say that today, as a one year old, he says mama, dada and hi consistently, and it is music to my ears!

I also remember the day when we went in to get his first set of hearing aids. I can still see the smile on his face when he actually heard us talk to him for the first time! And now that he has tried out the hearing aids, gotten more powerful hearing aids to try, and is scheduled to get his cochlear implants in less than a month, I am so excited to see his reaction when they get turned on.

I remember meeting his teachers (from Sunshine Cottage and the Early Intervention program) and his audiologist and feeling apprehensive and nervous about the process we were going to be going through. But now these women are like our extended family and we love them so much! I can't express how much they have helped, not only Logan, but me as well.

When I took him to his 6 month checkup, I shared my concern with his pediatrician about his upper body strength. He just seemed too wobbly for his age. She agreed and referred him for a physical therapy evaluation. It took a lot of work to get him to sit up unassisted and I don't think he actually did it consistently until he was 9 months old. But since he reached that milestone he has been progressing at warp speed! In these 3 months, he started rolling to get everywhere, started doing a commando crawl, transitioned to a traditional crawl and then a bear crawl, and has been pulling up and cruising on anything and everything he can get his hands on! He will be walking before we know it.

This next year is going to be great for him and our family!

Surgery is Scheduled!

Originally, we were going to do one implant when Logan turns 1 and the second implant about 6 months later. However, when we went to see his ENT recently, he said that Logan's hearing test results were so much on the fence that you could make an argument to do one at a time or to do them both together. We told him that our preference would be to do them both at once and only have to go through the surgery once. So he said he would talk to Logan's audiologist, and if she was on board, we would do them both when he turns 1.

Well, we heard from the doctor's office last week to schedule his surgery and they scheduled bilateral implants (both ears)! The downside is that since the surgery is twice as long we could not get it scheduled right after his birthday at the beginning of July like we had hoped. So now he is scheduled to go in for his implants on July 25^th. Here's hoping there is a cancellation so we can get in before then!

We are so excited to get his new “ears” and to begin his therapy for this. I know his wonderful teachers are excited to see how he does as well.

For those of you that don't know, this is what he will be wearing:

Making Progress

For those of you that don't know, Logan has been in physical therapy 3 times a month for the last 4 months or so. At his 6 month checkup, I mentioned to his pediatrician that he was still a little wobbly and seemed to be weaker in his upper body in comparison to his lower body. She checked him out and decided to refer him for physical therapy. Developmental delays are common in children with CMV.

When we had our physical therapy evaluation the therapist said he was about 2 months behind which she said is not too bad. For the past 4 months we have been working hard on helping him with his head control, sitting, rolling properly (some of you have seen his acrobatic style rolls), crawling and standing (in addition to learning to listen).

At times I have been discouraged because he seems to be taking so long to reach certain milestones. I realize this is because I am comparing him to Jasmine and how quickly she achieved them. I try to stop myself when I catch myself comparing them, but it is easy to slip back into it.

I have to say that the therapy has really started to pay off over the last month and a half. In this short time he has perfected his sitting, rolling, commando crawling (although he did actually crawl with his belly off the floor today!) and is pulling up on anything and everything he can possibly find. He actually prefers to be standing now and has let go of whatever he is holding thinking he can balance already! I am so proud of him and am so happy to see him finally start taking off and catching up to babies his age. Thanks Denyse, we couldn't have done it without you.