Feeling Honored

Today Andrew and I attended the annual end of the year dinner that is put on by the Sunshine Cottage Parent Infant Program staff for the parents of children enrolled in the birth to three program.  It was great to see some of the friends we've made there and chat. It's funny, but this is one of the few places that I feel like a social butterfly (which is a weird feeling since I am really a very shy and reserved person). And it is one of the few places where I really have a hard time figuring out where to sit since there are so many people to catch up with.

As some of you know, since the time that Logan was diagnosed I have tried to find ways to contribute to parents and children at Sunshine Cottage and really any parents and / or children with hearing loss.  In a way, it has become a mission for me.  Because of this, last year I started a meetup group for children with hearing loss and have done what I can to do fundraising for Sunshine Cottage and other organizations for people with hearing loss.

Today at the dinner I was completely honored and humbled by the beautiful gesture of recognition from the Sunshine Cottage staff.  They presented me with a plaque and a beautiful picture of a heart that was drawn by a 9 year old student at the school.  She even called the piece "Becky's Caring Heart."  How beautiful and thoughtful is that?!  I am overcome with emotion and joy and I only wish I could do more!

Audio Update

Today Logan was scheduled to do sound booth testing at Sunshine Cottage.  During these sessions, Logan, his advisor Lindsay, and I sit in a sound proof booth while Marci, his audiologist, will play tones at different decibels and frequencies to measure what he can and cannot hear.  We usually do this every 3 months or so but it had been a while since Logan managed to get sick every time we were on the schedule.

I am so proud of how well he did today.  Not only did he cooperate long enough for Marci to get all the information she needed, but he is doing phenomenally well with his implants and learning to listen.  We were able to keep him entertained long enough to listen and respond to those boring tones for about half an hour.  Anyone with experience with a 21 month old toddler knows that this is no small feat!  We actually thought we lost his attention about 10 minutes in but were able to get him back into it.

The last time we did a booth session, he was responding behaviorally between 20 and 25 decibels (around the sound of a whisper).  This time, he responded between 10 and 20 decibels, with 10 being the sound of breathing. The great thing about these results is that his hearing is measured by his behavioral responses so it is not necessarily his threshold for hearing.  But what is even more amazing and what had me totally floored is that Marci actually got a response twice (once at the beginning and once at the end of the session) at 0 db, which is almost complete silence. Lindsay and I didn't even hear that one!

Below is his latest audiogram, which is simply a graph that shows a person's hearing thresholds for various frequencies.  When Logan had his hearing aids, his thresholds were always inside or below the greyed out area, meaning he did not have access to a lot of the sounds in the English language. But now, as you can see, he has access to most / all the sounds in the English language and basically has better than "normal hearing."

Physical Therapy Update

Logan had his physical therapy session today and, since I had asked how he was doing a couple of weeks ago, his therapist went ahead and did an informal evaluation today.  I was still concerned that, although he seems to be doing well with his gross and fine motor skills, that he was still lagging behind.  Well I am happy to report that my almost 22 month old son scored at a 22 month old level for gross motor skills and at 31 months for fine motor skills!!!

When we first started physical therapy when he was around 6 months old, he was about 3 months behind.  He was rolling over but was still very wobbly with his head control and was not even close to sitting unassisted.  But today, my active son runs and climbs all day long and has caught up with his peers.  I am so proud of him!

He will continue his physical therapy twice a month until his annual review in August.  His therapist wants to see him kicking a ball better, going up and down stairs well and jumping before she releases him. 

Our Little Bookworm

We have a very consistent routine for the kids before bedtime (and naptime).  After the kids get their teeth brushed, they get their bedtime stories.  Logan gets three books and Jasmine gets two (since hers are so much longer). 

For a while I've had some trouble with getting Logan to sit down and listen to his stories.  I would end up following him around with the book in hand while reading it to him so that I knew he could hear it well enough.  Those of you that know Logan, know that he is on the go every waking hour so I'm sure you can picture me chasing him with a book in hand!   He has always been better about sitting for his daddy to read him books, but his daddy claims it's because he is boring and makes him tired, haha!

Over the last month or so, I have been working on getting him to sit in my lap to pay more attention to the books and vocalize more. It has really started to pay off too!  It started with him sitting for one book and gradually we got to the point where he would sit for all three. 

The really cool thing that has been happening for the last couple days is that when I am done with book three, he will get up to go get another book, give it to me, and sit back down on my lap.  Today, each time he brought me a book I asked him if he wanted me to read it, he would shout "YES!" and then sit down in my lap.  And I say each time, it's because I wound up reading him six books for bedtime this evening.  But really, how could you say no to such a cute face!!!

And the Words Are Coming

It is easy to get impatient waiting for Logan to start saying more words since he is already 19 months old and we spend so much of our day just talking and talking to him.  He has had his implants turned on for 6 months now and, so far, has said a handful of words over the last couple of months.  Jasmine was an early talker so we always try to be careful not to compare him to her, especially because, at nearly 3 years old, she can really talk your head off!

Cochlear implants actually don't restore a person's natural hearing.  Instead, they provide a different way for the brain to access sound. Electrical signals are transmitted into the internal device which stimulates the auditory nerve and sends those signals to the brain for interpretation.  My point in describing this is to explain that the cochlear implants provide a completely different way to access sound, and because of this, when they are first turned on after surgery the recipient's hearing age is 0, like a newborn.  And since Logan's hearing age is 6 months now, we can expect him to make babbling sounds like a 6 month old would (this is the average for children implanted at 1 year), which he does.   

Our goal is for him to 15-20 words by the time he is 2 and to catch up to his hearing peers by the time he is 3.  Based on his progress so far, I think this is a very realistic goal.  Just today he said 3 new words!!!!  He said "flush" (or "ush"), he said "trash" (or "ash") and "yuck" (or "uck").  Andrew said he thinks he also heard him say "sit" to Blackjack.  This coupled with him saying "Jasmine" (or "jah ihn") earlier this week, we are well on our way.  He has already managed to say at least 10 words these last 6 months!  I am just so proud of my little man!

Half a Year of Hearing

I can't believe it's already been 6 months since Logan's ears have been turned on!  He is such a different boy today than he was before he had his implants.  He has always been a happy boy, but he has really seemed to blossom over the last several months. He is such an explorer, always trying to take things apart and put them together again (like his daddy).  He is so independent and likes to feed himself.  He has gotten quite good using his fork and spoon.

Logan is on the go all day long. He is walking very well now, has gotten pretty good outside on uneven terrain and is trying to jump now.  Because he is doing so well, we were able to decrease his physical therapy services down to twice a month.  At this point, it is just practice for him, but his physical therapist will keep him on her service until he can jump, climb stairs, kick a ball and a few other gross motor skills.

If you recall, we also see a teacher from our school district, our advisor from Sunshine Cottage, and a deaf educator and speech therapist from Easter Seals on a weekly basis.  We added the speech therapy a few months ago to help Logan along a little more. We started with a different therapist than we have now but Logan really did not connect with her and most of his session consisted of him crying. So I asked for a different speech therapist about a month ago, but the week we were supposed to have our first session was the week that the flu struck our house.  We finally met her last week and we absolutely loved her.  She is on a whole other level than our first speech therapist and is perfect for Logan's team of teachers.  She came for her second session with Logan today and he immediately smiled and walked over to greet her!  That made me so happy because you can tell when he really connects with his teachers. He always gives hugs out to them and sometimes doesn't even want to come back to me!

As far as Logan's language progression, he is getting more and more words receptively every day!  Today Andrew said "Logan, hug mama" and he immediately looked toward me and came and hugged my leg.  Also, when I tell him "let's go upstairs" he will stop what he is doing and walk to the gate at the bottom of the stairs and wait for me there. He even goes to the door sometimes when I say "it's time to go!" 

Logan has also been babbling and imitating sounds more and more.  His latest attempts to say words have been "bath," "up," "uh-huh" and "on."  And much to Andrew's delight, he has finally mastered "dada!"

It's been a lot of hard work these past six months, and more of it is coming, but I can't wait to hear the payoff when he finally starts talking.

Loving the Love....From Sunshine Cottage

It is easy to tell when Logan's cochlear devices are working properly.  The front of each of his sound processors has an indicator light that blinks green when it is connected and working properly. If there is a problem or the coil is not sitting on his head correctly the light will blink orange.

For the past few weeks we've had intermittent problems with Logan's right side device. At first it would start blinking orange until we removed the coil from his head and repositioned it.  I finally solved this issue when I changed out the cable that goes from the processor to the coil that sits on his head.

I thought all our issues were over until a few days ago. I've made a habit to check the indicator lights throughout the day to make sure everything is working so that he gets as much access to language as possible. Well several times throughout the day I found that the sound processor had powered off.  Each time this happened, I turned it back on and made sure I locked the buttons just in case little fingers were getting to them.

Today I called Logan's awesome audiologist Marci from Sunshine Cottage about the issue and we did some troubleshooting together. She was leaving early to spend the weekend with family in another city and gave me her cell phone number in case I needed anything. She even called to check in with me after she left work.

Everything seemed to be fine until we got home from picking Jasmine up from her preschool. When I got Logan out of the car I noticed his processor was off. When I went to turn it on, nothing happened! I tried for several minutes and still nothing. So I tried a different, fully charged battery and it still didn't turn on. I immediately got out my phone to call Marci to let her know what was going on.  I can't even begin to express how awesome she is and how well she takes care of us.  She immediately called Cochlear Americas to overnight a premapped replacement sound processor. To ensure this could even happen, she had to take all Logan's mapping information with her on her trip.

I am so amazed by the love Logan has received from the wonderful women that work with him. This is just another example of how much they care for him and his success. Marci didn't have to do all this for us. She could have told me that I needed to call Cochlear Americas and work it out with them. But instead she chose to take time while she was off the clock to ensure Logan gets what he needs. She even asked me to let her know as soon as it arrives so that she knows he has it and that it is working properly.  We are so lucky to have these women in our lives and I am thankful for them everyday.