Drew Could Not Hear

One year ago today I knew that Drew could not hear. He was not responding to most environmental sounds around the house, like the dog barking, door bell ringing or his sisters loud squeals of delight. Occasionally I would see him startle, throwing his arms while sleeping, in perfect time with an environmental sound. But I knew he was not able to hear. I convinced myself that the reason was only because of the fluid the ENT had found weeks earlier. Why would I suspect anything else?

Drew's Dad and I were both feeling pretty good one year ago. We had a reason for Drew failing his newborn hearing screening. It was our glimmer of hope and we truly felt that everything was going to be just fine. We were holding on tightly with both hands firmly grasped on the thought that the fluid would clear and Drew would pass his hearing test. I can even remember Drew's Dad saying one night, as we went to bed, "I hope that my lack of worry isn't setting it up for them (the ENT and audiologist) to tell us he can't hear."

Drew's Dad and I knew that the fluid was still there. We did not feel as though the fluid was clearing because we had not seen any change in Drew's behavior indicating that he could hear. So we decided that I would take Drew to the follow-up ENT appointment on October 26th. Alone.

All the ENT was going to say was, "Come back in one month and we'll see if the fluid has cleared," right?