I have noticed a few changes in Drew since his surgery. I don't know if they are a coincidence or not, but none the less, noteworthy.
First, Drew has not done his back arch, scoot around on the top-of-his-head maneuver for two whole days now, a maneuver very typical of deaf babies. When holding him, he does not arch his back, nearly throwing himself from your arms. Maybe he still isn't feeling 100% and this will return, but he has never gone this long without arching his back.
Secondly, his balance seems to be a lot better. He was sitting up prior to surgery, but not all that well. The back arching was hurting his ability to sit up because he would throw himself backward to arch his back. With that, it seems like he is really sitting up. Drew's Dad and I were both amazed last night at how long he sat on the floor, and when he would tip from side to side he was able to correct back to the center. He really has not been able to do that before. Affects to Drew's balance system were a major concern to us going into the surgery, especially since we elected have him implanted simultaneously. While our research is in no way scientific, I think in Drew's case the surgery seems to have only helped his balance.
Third, he has not let out the typical Drew db screams. He would talk to us at db's so loud we thought he might give us hearing loss at times. But he hasn't done that. I don't know if it is because his throat is still sore from the intubation, or if maybe the loss of all residual hearing has left him unable to hear those sounds so he is not making them?
I think it will be interesting to see what other changes we notice in him in the coming weeks and if these things change as he continues to recover from his surgery.
5 comments:
Hi you guys!
That's so great to hear that his balance is showing signs of improvement already. Just imagine what it will look like when he is activated! Do they activate both sides the same day?
I am assuming that Drew is in Early Intervention, it will be neat to hear what your EI specialist notes about changes in his motor skills as well.
Ethan spends so much time in the tripod position, rotating his body around his head. I wonder if another implant would change that behavior.
Is Drew part of the new research that is being done on bilaterally implanted infants and the affects on the vestibular system? Whether he is part of official research or not, your observations are really important to parents like me who would like to get a bilateral for their child.
Btw, I left you a comment at Ethan's blog, answering your questions about his new speech person in Columubs and the sleep issue.
Take care you two!
Yes, both implants will be activated on the same day. We are scheduled from 8:30 AM - 12 noon that day! It will be long, but well worth it!
We are not part of any research projects currently. We would certainly agree to participate in those that would come our way, but I have not heard of Columbus doing any research on vestibular/bilaterals. I do think that it is very interesting - even my Mom thought his balance looked much better - without any input on my part. I'll keep you posted on how he does a little farther down the road!
It's great his balance has improved! In response to what you said in my blog - I think you are doing the very best thing for Drew by getting him two implants now. He won't remember the surgery and he will catch up with his peers fast. Will he have to do speech rehab?
Drew won't be doing speech rehab, since he has no language skills to start with. He will be going to see an AVT once a week and will receive therapy through our local Regional Infant Hearing Program. This will help him learn to listen and eventually develop his communication.
In addition to having 2 hours of AVT a week we are planning on taking him to We Joy Sing, a music class, to help with listening to different sounds. I will also take him to story time at the library. The more language he is exposed to the better!
Speech therapy, in its truest sense, will only be used if once Drew is talking he has a problem pronoucing certain letters, like "r". I hope this makes sense.
Everything looks and sounds so absolutely awesome! I am sure Drew will appreciate everything you have done and especially this blog you have done! I am looking forward to hearing about the results of his activation.
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