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Monday, March 12

Columbus - We Don't Want to Leave

I feel like my life is in a constant state of fast forward. Between balancing two young children, work, home, doctors appointments, school intervention, family obligations, I hardly have time to sleep (and that has been rare recently, with Drew waking during the night). And just when I think things are about to go back to play mode, something happens that makes me stay in fast forward. For several months now, we have been certain that we were going to have all of Drew's surgery and habilitation done in Cincinnati. Now I believe that Drew will not be implanted in Cincinnati.

I am not sure if I have ever fully explained why we felt the need originally to search for surgeons and habilitation outside of Columbus. We have learned that there are three main areas to consider when deciding where to have Drew implanted: the cochlear implant surgeon, the audiology program and the oral deaf education school connected to the implant program. These three pieces of the puzzle will have to come together perfectly in order for Drew to receive the maximum benefit from his cochlear implants, and to reach our goal of having him mainstream at kindergarten with his hearing peers. These are the three things we are continuously investigating at area implant centers, and as we continue to do research, Columbus Children's just may offer the best for Drew after all.

Over the next several posts, I will try to explain why we initially felt Columbus could not provide Drew the best in each of these areas, and why we are starting to think that we made a premature decision. We are trying to make the absolute best decision we can for Drew, so while we think we have made excellent decisions for him to date, we will continue gather information and when needed we will rethink our decisions. We have no regret in changing our minds at any point along this journey. Our only objective is to do what is best for our son, and we feel confidant that the decisions we have made in the last few weeks are in Drew's best interest.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

Thanks for the kinds words you left earlier on Ethan's blog. I think as parents we are always trying to put up a happy and tough front, but there are times when we need to let them fall and be vulnerable. I guess that's where I'm at right now.

Drew is such a lucky little guy to have you guys as parents. Your relentless research and drive to make the best choices for him is admirable. As a parent, only you know what is best for your child. Period.

So...are you going to watch What About Brian tonight? (snicker...)