Sounds of the Zoo

We are enjoying beautiful weather this Memorial Day weekend. Yesterday we went to the Columbus Zoo. It was our first trip to the zoo of the summer, and Drew certainly enjoyed the sights and sounds of the zoo! This is the first time that he has really been old enough to enjoy the animals at the zoo and we all had such fun making animal noises together!



We were able to ride the train, which Drew really enjoyed. As we waited in line he kept saying, "Choo, choo." It is so cool that he can talk! I don't know if and when the adrenalin rush that I feel every time Drew talks will subside. In fact, I really don't want it to.




Drew's Sister took her first pony ride! She was such a big girl, climbing on the horse and riding all by herself. I was really proud of her. Drew watched from the stroller, while making a tongue clicking sound the entire time.



We took Drew for his first ride on the carousel. He loved it! He had a smile on his face the entire time and when the ride stopped he started saying, "No. No. No." He was moving his body trying to make the horse move. When I told him that we had to say bye, he protested and threw a mini-tantrum. Drew's Dad and I laughed and laughed as we pulled our boy off of the horse, happy as can be that he can scream, "No!," at the top of his lungs! We enjoyed it so much that we took Drew for another ride, complete with the smiling and the mini-tantrum.


The Columbus Zoo has been completely remodeled and they have added a new ride area between it and the new water park, Zoombezi Bay. Both Drew and his sister had a great time riding on the rides. It is a really nice area with plenty of rides for toddlers. I have a feeling that we will be spending many days on the flying elephants, tea pots and train. They even have a tilt-a-world and scrambler, two of my favorites!

We hope that you have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend and are enjoying time with family and friends!

10 Months Post Cochlear Implant Activation Video

We've consistently been updating you with stories of how Drew is doing: funny things, surprising things, etc. Well, here's the latest video showing how Drew's spoken language is progressing to this point (19 months old, 10 months hearing).

You'll see that he can respond to auditory commands, make some animal noises, sing parts of "Ba Ba Black Sheep", loves giving kisses, and can be very assertive at times!

For those of you who have CI children of your own, or have kids who may be getting a cochlear implant sometime soon, please remember that every child is different. Some kids will show more language development than Drew at the same "hearing age" of 10 months, and some will show less.

The road to maximize Drew's success with hearing and spoken language has just begun for our family, but we are happy with the way things are working to this point. We hope you enjoy.

Off and A Little Conversation

There are many times during a day when one (if not both) of Drew's coils fall off through play. Either from falling down, rolling around or running, it is inevitable that coils will fall off, thus leaving Drew with only one ear to hear from or in silence. In the past, we have relied on the little flashing lights on his ear level piece to tell us that Drew is not hearing. I find myself constantly looking at his ears to make sure that everything is working correctly. Now, we have a new way of knowing: Drew!

Drew now tells us when his ear(s) is off. He can even tell which ear is off, as he will bring his hand up to the ear that is off while saying, "off, off." While driving in the car yesterday Drew said, "Mommy." I turned to look at him while saying, "Yes, Drew." He then pointed to his ear and said, "Off." Drew actually knew to get my attention and then tell me that his ear was not working correctly. I found that rather amazing.

At dinner this evening, Drew kept pointing to his left ear while saying, "Off." I kept telling him, "Drew, you ear isn't off," because I could plainly see that the coil was attached to his head. Upon further investigation, the flashing light was off. I found that his processor had indeed turned off and that Drew was not able to hear. I need to learn to listen to him and investigate more thoroughly!

On another note, Drew is having fantastic conversations with us! I feel like he is really understanding what we are saying and he is conversing with us appropriately:

Me: "Drew, please stop pushing your sister."
Drew: Continues pushing her.
Me: "Drew, look at me." [Drew turns his head and looks at me] "Will you please stop pushing your sister?"
Drew: "No."
Me: "Drew, you need to go to timeout."
Drew: While walking toward the timeout chair, "Okay."

And a conversation with his sister:

Drew: [Calling sister's name while running after her]
Drew's Sister: "Drew, do you want the vacuum?"
Drew: Shaking his head, "Esss."
Drew's Sister: [Hands him the vacuum] "There you go, Drew."
Drew: "Thank you."
Drew's Sister: "You're welcome."

The expression of "normal" is often over used and mis-understood. And seriously, what is normal? But I can't help feeling that whatever "normal" is, we're there. Sure, I have to talk to Drew all. the. time. And do "therapy." But I love to talk, so I would talk to him all the time even if he wasn't deaf. It feels natural, not forced and has become part of who I am and who we are as a family.

We're having a lot of fun. Drew is becoming a toddler, exploring the world around him and becoming more and more independent. Drew can have conversations with his sister, his Daddy, his aunts and uncles. Can it get any better? Knowing Drew, I'm sure it will!

Preakness Jockey Kent Desormeaux Races Against Time For Deaf Son With Cochlear Implants and Usher Syndrome

Two weeks ago we discovered that Kentucky Derby winning jockey Kent Desormeaux has a deaf son with cochlear implants, named Jake. Everyone in my family was so excited to see Jake on the television since you rarely see anyone with cochlear implants anywhere, and I searched the internet to find footage of the pre-race story about him (it is linked in my post immediately above). It was a shock to find out that Jake has Usher Syndrome (sometimes called "Usher's Syndrome"), a genetic condition which is causing Jake to lose his sight at an increasing pace.

This USA Today article describes how Jake has had 17 major surgeries during his life, including 11 on his ears, which is an incredible number. The family is trying to have Jake experience as much as possible visually, while he can still see - which must be heartbreaking each and every day. His prescription eyeglasses are outdated almost every couple of months.

Tomorrow, Jake's dad will race Big Brown in the 133rd Preakness Stakes, looking to complete the second piece of a possible Triple Crown. I wish Mr. Desormeaux the best of luck, so we can let young Jake see (and hear) his dad win another huge horse race.

New Friends

I've been emailing with a Mom from the east coast of the United States for several months now. Her son Ben was born in January with profound hearing loss. They are just beginning their cochlear implant candidacy. Through the wonderful world of the Internet, she was able to find Drew's blog, and we have talked at length about our path to hearing for Drew. She has decided to start a blog for Ben, and one of her first posts reminded me of one of the reasons why we wanted to start a blog for Drew as soon as we learned of his hearing loss. So to Ben's Big Family, we are so happy to have "met" you and so glad that we can help. You're at the beginning of an amazing road for your little boy!

Also, when Always Gone Dad left a comment on one of my recent posts, I was able to find Amelia's Journey. Amelia was just activated last week, and her dad just posted her activation video. Very exciting!

And, you'll want to check out six year old Brianna's story! She is waiting her activation in under one week! We've been reading his blog for awhile now, but Christian is scheduled for activation on May 27th!

I'm so glad that the Internet has been able to bring us all together. I know that Drew's Dad and I were really inspired by several little ones, as we went through the candidacy process for Drew's cochlear implants. I'm glad that we are now able to help others in the same way that those who have gone before us were able to help Drew and our family.

Amazing

Our bedtime routine around here is rather strict, as we try to bathe, dress, read to, sing with and put two toddlers to bed at the same time. While Drew's Dad gives the bath, I assemble the "jammies" and diapers, lay out the outfits for the coming day, pick up the kids rooms, etc. As the bath ends, Drew's Dad takes care of getting Drew ready for bed, while I attend to Drew's Sister.

Every night, for as long as I can remember now, Drew's Sister will run into Drew's room after getting her jammies on to give Drew a good night kiss. Recently, Drew's Sister has been rather slow at putting on her jammies, in an attempt to extend her bedtime. Well, apparently Drew really enjoys his nightly kiss from his sister, as he started calling her, by NAME! He said her name nearly perfectly, calling her to his room. After saying her name each time he would make a kissing sound.

Drew's Sister responded by running as fast as she could to Drew's room. She looked at Drew and said, "Drew!!! You said my name. That's amazing! That's sooooo amazing."

Drew now calls for his sister on a regular basis. If he wakes from his nap before her, he starts calling her name and walking around the house looking for her. If she's not in the same room with him, he begins calling her name and looking for her. As soon as he sees her, he starts saying her name over and over. Hearing him say his sisters name is priceless and something that, at one point, I thought might not be possible.

This is my most favorite thing he can say. At least at this point!

Kentucky Derby Winner Big Brown and Cochlear Implants

They call the Kentucky Derby the "most exciting two minutes in sports". While it turned out to be an exciting race, with winner Big Brown dominating the field, the excitement peaked when I noticed winning jockey Kent Desormeaux's son Jake after his father had just crossed the finish line.Jake is deaf, and wears bilateral cochlear implants.

At first I was unsure of what I had just seen. I thought I saw a child with cochlear implants on my TV screen, but because you don't see that too often (or ever), it took me a second look to be sure. It was so great to see another child like Drew out there in the world!

The announcer for the broadcast said something like "and there is son Jake, with those implants that allow him to hear the roar of the crowd". I thought it was a touching comment, and I think that will help the public become more aware of what cochlear implants are.

This article, from April of 2001, describes Jake's diagnosis and initial CI surgery. Another, earlier article describes his family's first thoughts and concerns about Jake's future.

As much as anything about the Kentucky Derby, Kent Desormeaux says, he enjoys the sounds. The weighty rattle of the starting gate as the doors slam shut behind the last horse to line up. The gathering roar of the crowd in the moment before the race begins.

The frenzied roar of the crowd as he rides a winner down the long Churchill Downs stretch, something he has done twice now, sounds pretty sweet, too.

Desormeaux and his wife, Sonia, got some bad news a couple of weeks ago. Their younger son, 14-month-old Jake, may never experience the delight of those sounds or any others.

Tests confirmed that Jake was born deaf. It's an affliction to which the jockey can relate, having lost the hearing in his right ear in a December 1992 racing accident at Hollywood Park.

``It's depressing to think your child is going to grow up without being able to hear music,'' Desormeaux said. Like ``My Old Kentucky Home''?

His family's tragedy put Desormeaux, 30, in a different mood as he approached Saturday's Derby, in which he rode the favored Fusaichi Pegasus to a convincing victory.

Thankfully, Jake's surgeries went well, and he was able to hear "My Old Kentucky Home" and the roar of the crowd as his father crossed the finish line on 2008 Kentucky Derby Champion Big Brown.

If Jake is the first person you've seen with a cochlear implant, and you came here to learn more, please leave a comment!

***Note: After searching for the NBC pre-race coverage (video here) we understand that young Jake was recently diagnosed with Usher's Syndrome(Usher Syndrome). Unfortunately, this means that Jake may experience vision impairment and possible difficulty with balance in a progressive fashion. Let us all pray that Jake be affected by this as little as possible.***

*** Here is the NBC Broadcast showing Jake at 2:48:***

Ma Ma! Shoes!

I have a name! I am so excited to finally have a name. Ma Ma! Sure, Drew has been able to say Ma Ma since November, but has he said it meaning me? No! Sure, he can say, with meaning, Da Da, Pa Paw, Aunt An-ie, Eddie (the dog), his sister, etc., but Ma Ma? It was music to my ears to hear him say, "Ma Ma," while walking into the grocery store on Friday night. Drew's Dad was holding him at the time, when Drew said, "Ma Ma" and held his arms out for me. (I have to add, Drew has said "Ma Ma" about one billion times now. I keep telling myself that it is beautiful.)

In other news, Drew has become obsessed with shoes. Seriously. He starts saying "shoe" from the second I walk into his room in the morning and doesn't stop until I have placed the second shoe on his foot. He will even put TWO. WORDS. TOGETHER. "Shoe," he says, holding it in the air, "on," moving it toward his foot. It has gotten to the point that I have to hide his shoes while I change his diaper and get him dressed, otherwise he has, what I like to affectionately call, a meltdown.

Drew also likes to make sure that everyone around him is wearing their shoes as well. If I take my shoes off, he picks them up, walks over to me and says, "shoe...on." He won't stop until I put my shoes on. Really, it is quite cute, but after a long day of work...

I would like to mention how well Drew is saying his words. He is actually saying the word "shoe." I remember when my daughter first said the word shoe. It sounded like "foo." She said it that way for months. Drew said "shoe," with the /sh/ sound right from the beginning. For some reason, Drew's Dad and I found that rather amazing.

Thank You, Drew

For giving me moments daily to stop and give thanks for the gift of hearing:

While driving a few days ago, I noticed an ambulance pulling out of a fire station. It turned to come down the road toward us, so I pulled to the side of the road and stopped. Drew's Sister was listening to the Doodlebops, Drew's Dad and I were talking, and all of the noise in the car continued as we watched the ambulance speed by. After is passed, I began to pull back onto the road when I heard a beautiful noise coming from the back seat. Drew was mimicking, nearly perfectly, the sound of the siren that had just gone roaring by.

While blowing bubbles on the porch before dinner last night Drew heard an airplane in the sky. Looking up, he saw it, pointed to it and said, "ahhhh." It is the first time he has actually been able to find the source of the sound. We do not live close to the airport, but for some reason all commercial jets were flying over our house last night. Drew's Dad, Drew's Sister and I sat on the porch, rejoicing each time Drew heard an airplane, pointed to the sky and said, "ahhh."

I'm not sure that there will ever be a day where I take Drew's hearing for granted. Thank you, Drew, for allowing me to have an appreciation for something I used to (and so many others) take for granted.

Dancing With the Stars

I was watching Dancing with the Stars last Monday night. (Well, not really watching, just listening to it in the background as I worked). When Marlee Matlin's turn came, I glanced toward the television to find that she visited Mexico over the past week and witnessed children having their hearing aids turned on for the first time with help from The Starkey Hearing Foundation.




I am not a Marlee Matlin fan. (Although I respect her work). I know nothing about The Starkey Hearing Foundation. (But I am going to learn more). Watching as these children heard their parents voices for the first time brought back the flood of emotions I had watching Drew hear for the first time. Thank you Marlee, Fabian and The Starkey Hearing Foundation for not only helping children around the world to hear, but for bringing awareness to hearing loss.

As a side note, Marlee Matlin will star tonight on CBS in the Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie, Sweet Nothing in My Ear, about a couple's struggle on whether or not to give their son a cochlear implant. (My guess is that the couple ends up not in favor of the cochlear implant for their son, but I'll have to watch to find out!) I've set my DVR and plan on watching it tomorrow and will post my thoughts once I have watched the movie.

Mooo! Baaa! Oink! Quack!

Working on animal names? Try this book:



We are really enjoying Mooo! Baaa! Oink! Quack! with Drew. Drew is fairly good with knowing his animal sounds; he can say a handful of them on demand. While we are continuing to work on the animal sounds, we are also encouraging Drew to name the animal based on the sound. Instead of saying, "What does a duck say?" and waiting for him to say, "Quack," we're saying, "What animal says 'quack, quack, quack'?" He isn't able to say any animal names as of yet, but we're working on it.

This book has been excellent for working on his expressive language, plus it incorporates fun pictures and has flaps to lift, which always help to keep Drew entertained while reading. We hope you enjoy it too!

Bubbles!

Drew is loving the spring weather because he loves to blow bubbles! We blow bubbles on the porch each night before dinner. He enjoys it so much so that we have a hard time getting him to go inside when it's time to eat. He's even learned to say "bubble":






Drew will now walk to the front door and say "bubble" over and over again in hopes that we can go outside. The weather has not cooperated the last few days, but hopefully spring will be here for good soon so Drew can blow bubbles anytime he would like!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sis!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Sis! Thank you for being such an excellent language model for me, helping me put my coils back on and for practicing my learning to listen sounds with me. You are a huge part of my success. Love, Drew

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday that I was (enormously) pregnant, anxiously anticipating her arrival. Now I'm celebrating her birthday...for the third time.

I'm It!

Christian's Mommy tagged me for a fun little "get to know you" game. So, I'm it! Here goes...

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

I have to answer questions and people I tag have to answer the same questions.

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago, boy that seems like forever ago. I was a junior at The Ohio State University majoring in Marketing. Since today is a nice, warm spring day, I probably would have attempted to attend my classes, only to be stopped by friends at Zig's (it has since changed names to Panini's; I hope they still have the same drinks!) for a "quick" frozen beverage, only to end up skipping class and staying out way to late. (As a side note, I didn't spend all of my time in college skipping classes and drinking, just a few really nice spring days. And I did graduate.)

Five Snacks I enjoy, in a perfect, non weight-gaining world:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies (still warm from the oven, maybe even with some vanilla ice cream)
2. Chocolate Covered Peanuts
3. Sno Caps
4. Oreo Cookies
5. Chips & Salsa

In the real world:

1. Chips & Salsa
2. Chex Mix
3. Chocolate Covered Peanuts
4. Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Sno Caps

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Buy a new house immediately. Something that isn't in constant need of repair. It's too hard with kids.
2. I would attend all major sporting events in the country with Drew's Dad (and Drew and his sister as they get older) including the Masters, a Super Bowl, Game 7 of NBA/NHL/MLB finals, the US Open, etc.. After that, we'd venture to those outside the country, like the Olympics, Wimbledon, Dubai Open, etc. I would also like to see Ohio State in the National Championship again (but only if they are actually going to win).
3. Buy a new car - one that isn't for work. I've had a company vehicle for nine years, which is WONDERFUL, but it would be nice to have a car that isn't filled with samples (and the mess that comes with them) for work.

Five jobs that I have had:

1. Tabbing marble for trophies at my Dad's business
2. Sales person at Macy's
3. Waitress at Perkins (for 1 day)
4. Sales Representative for a kitchen cabinet manufacturer (which includes learning all about kitchen design - pretty cool)
5. Mommy

Three of my habits:

1. Chocolate Covered Peanuts
2. Shopping: I don't even have to buy anything, I just like to shop! When I was on maternity leave with both babies, I don't think a day went by that we didn't walk the malls. So fun to window shop, and people watch!
3. Cleaning: I am a very organized, neat person. Although having kids has challenged my ability to keep things in as tip-top shape they once were.

Five place I have lived:

I have never lived outside of OHIO!
1. Columbus, Ohio
2. Upper Arlington, Ohio
3. Oxford, Ohio (while at Miami University)
4. Ohio State University - in my sorority house - LOVED it!
5. Hilliard, Ohio

Add one new part:

What is the one thing you would tell the parent of a child recently diagnosed with profound hearing loss?:

The brightest light you can imagine is at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Now, I get to tag five people. I'm trying to choose ones that I don't think have been tagged yet, as this little game is quickly spreading through our CI friends:

Laurie
Kevin's Mom
Kauan's Mom
Logan's Mom
Isaac's Mom

CI Dilemma #2

What do you do on Sunday morning when your CI child is constantly crying because he keeps letting go of his balloon and can not reach it himself?


A. Put your Sunday paper away and follow him around for hours, constantly handing the balloon back time after time. You haven't read the Sunday paper since you had kids anyway, right?


B. Throw said balloon away.


C. Tie a loop in the string and hook it to your child's coil. That way when he lets go the balloon it is still attached to him.