Surgery

I just re-read my last post, to figure out what I'm supposed to type next. Ugh! I'm a picky writer, I love to proof my own stuff, but I'm just typing out things as they come to me. I feel it's more important to get all of these experiences down before I forget about them, than to worry about my grammar. :)

The surgery. We had to wait for a particular doctor, because he was in high demand. And he specifically understood my son's malformations, so I wouldn't even think about implanting sooner with another doctor w/ less such experience. And the doctor had to go on vacation. Imagine that, doctors have to take breaks, too!

I remember one funny audie visit soon before implantation. I think the audie told me that Matt did so well with his testing (with hearing aids) that he might not qualify for an implant. This may have been his first test that day. She spoke the word, he identified it by pointing to the picture. He scored 100%! Next she re-did the test, but covered her mouth this time around. Matt went through the test as he was expected to do, but scored 0%. He was such an amazing lip reader at that time, he initially passed as if he were hearing! I'll have to pull out his audiogram and scan it in. He definitely met the criteria for implantation.

Matt's surgery was in October. I'll never forget driving home from an appointment on the day before his surgery. My hubby dropped me off to buy some milk and waited in the car with the boys. As I was getting in the car he told me, "You'll never believe this, but Rush Limbaugh is announcing he's going deaf." My response, "No friggin' way, this has to be a joke." We sat there and listened to the radio. I could not believe what I was hearing! The day before Matt's CI surgery Rush Limbaugh was on the radio announcing he was also going deaf. I privately hoped he would also qualify for an implant, and he did. He had the surgery in December, and finally announced in January that he had chosen an Advanced Bionics implant, also! I remember hearing his speech get worse as time went on, and you bet I didn't miss the show when he first talked about his CI experiences. I still can't believe he has the same implant as Matt! I would so much like to meet him some day and thank him for sharing everything he's been through.

Anyway, my son's surgery date finally came. I don't know that I was nervous any more, I just wanted it done. Because of Matt's balance problems, I fully expected him to be imbalanced post surgery, and he was. I figured the pressure, swelling post surgery would affect his inner ear and balance, and it took almost a week for him to be walking 100% normal again. I'm not totally certain about this, I don't have the paperwork in front of me, but I think one of the doctors mentioned they did have a "gusher" upon entering the inner ear. I think that's a release of built up fluid, but I'm just a mom, not a doctor. As a fast forward, Matt's doctor anticipated a gusher also, but he didn't have one. He also was up and around immediately after surgery, as soon as the sedatives wore off. What a switch! Another example of how each child and experience is totally unique.

Medication. Oh, boy, Matt did not want to take his antibiotics. I have no clue exactly what he was supposed to take, just that he said it tasted bad and he would not take it. I tried hiding it in everything, we tried holding him down and forcing it into him. We were confounded. I told him, not that he understood, that we were not coming this far and then risk infection because he wouldn't take his meds. We lived on a small post and I called the clinic. It was a tiny post with only two doctors, everybody knew everyone else. Thankfully the doc there that day was someone I really respected. I told her that Matt absolutely would not take his meds, she told me to bring him in. I think the clinic was only four or five blocks away, we were there in minutes.

With help, we were able to get the medicine into Matt. I sat on the bed with Matt in my lap. We ended up laying down as one sailor held each of Matt's arms and legs, four sailors in all. Then the doctor pinched his nose, put the meds in the side of his mouth, and held his mouth until he swallowed. It took SIX grown adults to get Matt to take his meds!!! That kid was only 39 months old, but stronger than an ox! Matt learned that I meant business and was not messing around. I came back for the next dose, and they helped me again. For the third home dose I had to drive Matt to the clinic, but he took his medicine in the car, before I got out to take him in. We didn't have problems getting him to take his meds after that, he did not want to go back to the clinic. :)

We had to wait almost six weeks until activation. This is not normal, but I think there was a scheduling error. Regardless, we waited, Matt healed. By this time he was going to school full time at the school for the deaf. Believe it or not, he still sat in with his speech therapist and tried to do some work with her, too. Matt is amazing when it comes to school, he just soaks it all in and craves more. There were teachers and staff who were opposed to what we had chosen, but they didn't tell me that until later. And then they told me how different everything was than what they expected! In a good way, too. But more about that later.

Matt's progress post CI was amazing. Each and every child is very unique in their abilities and desires. But Matt blew us all out of the water with how well he did post CI. I'll tell you more in detail later, but the big picture now. He did have a hearing history pre-CI. As spotty as it was, it helped. After about a month post CI, something "clicked" and he seemed to understand sound. That it had meaning and came from something, somewhere. Then a month later another "click" and he was understanding words. Then another month and he was following directions. By this time his approximations were vastly improved and he was "talking" again. A stranger might not have understood him, but we sure did, and his teachers did. I think Matt went to speech almost every day, and he liked it so much they had to practically kick him out. Remember, this was at a school for the deaf, and they were truly amazing. The speech instructor there was AV trained. Matt was in a small group which had stronger oral skills. He signed, but used it as a bridge into spoken language. We absolutely would not take his first true language away from him for the sake of his speech and aural rehab. But he found that he loved to hear again, that it was easier than with hearing aids, and that he loved to talk. With his hands, and absolutely with his voice, too.

I'll try to write more about specifics next. What sounds he seemed to hear first and how we helped him at home. Gosh, it's so cool to remember these things! :)