Quick Update

I am feeling a little better tonight. I decided to take Drew to the pediatrician to see how he was doing with the fluid in his ears.

Drew's doctor found that the fluid in the right ear has completely cleared. He could not see the left ear drum, as Drew has a bit of an ear wax problem. Drew is not running a fever and is in overall good spirits so we know that he does not have an ear infection now, and with the fluid clear in at least one ear we are feeling better.

Final Meeting With the ENT

We had our final appointment with the surgeon today, just under two weeks before Drew's surgery. Dr. Kang wanted to have the meeting to answer any last minutes questions we may have and do one final evaluation on Drew.

During the evaluation Dr. Kang found fluid in Drew's ears. He has had a runny nose for the past few days which we attributed to teething (Drew has cut two teeth in the last week). But Dr. Kang thinks that Drew has a touch of a cold and that is causing fluid to fill in his ears. If the fluid does not clear before surgery it does not really add any risk to the surgery itself, but should the fluid become infected before his surgery it will be postponed.

At this point we are getting really nervous. Nervous that Drew won't be able to have surgery on June 6th because of an ear infection. We are also getting really nervous about possible complications with the surgery. Drew's Dad is really worried about complications that would cause facial paralysis and severing the taste nerve. All are extremely rare, but none the less, worrisome.

We have full confidence in Dr. Kang - he is a very experienced and talented surgeon and is the chief of the department at Children's. We trust him fully, but we are Drew's parents so we worry about every detail. We are trying to make the best decisions for Drew and ultimately surgery is a necessary evil to allow Drew to hear. We'll be a lot better once June 7th is here.

Under Two Weeks Until CI Surgery

Well, the countdown clock that Drew's Mom put to the right of the posts tells me that we are now only 13 days away from Drew's cochlear implant surgery.

I'm happy that it is almost here, but I've been getting progressively more nervous. The surgery itself is not very risky, but I suppose that even if it was a simple procedure of putting tubes in his ears I would be nervous as well. I just want to fast-forward two weeks so that I can know that he is comfortable and that everything is working correctly.

At that point we will have a lot of work ahead of us, but at least we can get started on that as opposed to waiting and waiting. He is now very active, very interested in watching us (and The Wiggles), and I can't wait to pair his obvious communication techniques with sound!

I believe that Drew is going to do great with his implants, and we're going to do whatever we can to help him. I just want to get through the next few weeks so we can begin together.

"The Ends Justify The Means?"

I have mentioned the raging debate over whether cochlear implants are destroying "Deaf culture" or not, and have been trying to learn more myself. I understand that as a hearing person ("hearie"), I cannot fully realize what it is like to be Deaf (Deaf with a capital "D" is often used to refer to deaf persons who do not have an implant, and are not aided, and deaf without a capital "D" is often used to refer to deaf persons who have some degree of hearing either through hearing aids or cochlear implants) - just as I cannot fully see what it would like to be an African-American. However, I just don't agree that cochlear implants are evil, and I don't agree that by having Drew implanted that I am "not accepting him for who he is".

I am somewhat active on All Deaf, a message board which has many different sections, or topics. I originally went there to find out more about the Deaf Culture and others views on cochlear implants, hearing aids, or whatever type of things they are talking about. I have found valuable information and some very helpful people, but a good deal of discussion on the "Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Page" centers around the debate over whether children should be implanted, or whether anyone should be implanted. It can get uncomfortable in there!

This thread, titled "Cochlear Implants Causes Injuries and Death By Electrocution" (take a look) was started by a man who supposedly read a study in the Journal of American Medical Association that indicated people were dying from using cochlear implants.

To save anyone from unnecessary worry, he completely made it up. If you read through the thread you'll see that I challenge him, and he admits it was faked. Later he even admits that if parents went to bed worried that their child might die from electrocution that "his work is done". He was actually proud that spreading misinformation may cause parents anguish over whether their child might be killed.

If you are interested in this debate, I suggest you read that thread. I don't want people to think that ALL people who aren't in favor of cochlear implants think that way, but I think there is value in knowing that some people out there will spread any kind of misinformation they can in order to cause fear or uncertainty about the use of cochlear implants.

It's sad, because parents are just trying to do their best for their child, and wading through lies like this make it difficult to figure out what they should do. It is also sad because people like this cast a bad light upon other, non-hearing, non-implant deaf persons and their Deaf Culture, which probably hurts their way of life more than any piece of technology ever will.

Raise Your Hand!

Everyday in the US, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns is born profoundly deaf, with another 2-3 of 1,000 babies born with partial hearing loss. While pregnant with Drew I worried about so many things, but not once did I ever worry about him being able to hear. Little did I know that it is the most common birth defect in the United States.

My life has been forever changed as a result of congenital hearing loss, but I have taken action to not let this hearing loss impact Drew's ability to communicate in the hearing world. There are amazing technological advances that people of all ages with hearing loss can take advantage of, but only if their hearing loss is properly diagnosed and treated.

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month and I recently learned of an awareness effort called "Raise Your Hand". If you have ever taken a hearing test yourself, you know that when you hear the tones in the headphones you raise your hand. If you or someone you know is dealing with the far reaching effects of a hearing loss, "Raise Your Hand" for better hearing and help do something about it!