Well, he hears! I just keep repeating it in my head over and over: "He hears! He hears! He hears!" Today was, to put lightly, an emotional roller coaster. The following videos show a little bit of the activation. Read on for the break down of today.
Today's wake-up call was for 5:45 in the morning, too early for someone whose mind was racing all night. We made it out of the house by 6:25am, the same time as we usually leave. Today's drive was different then most days in that we were in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic starting in Burlington and lasting all the way into York St downtown Toronto. I kept looking at the GPS estimated time of arrival as the arrival time kept climbing...8:30...8:50...9:05...9:31. I forgot to mention our appointment was at 9am! Needless to say, I started bawling away when 9am hit and we were still 20 minutes away. I kept thinking worst case scenario, our appointment gets re-booked, of course that is not the case because Gina (our audiologist) is so great at what she does, we had plenty of time with the 30 minutes left.
First, Gina was activating some of the electrodes in Al's ears. He has a total of about twenty and only a few were activated today. The following appointments will be for activating more and readjusting the programs. Alex has a four programs in the remote and we have to increase by one every day. Each program is a little bit louder then the last. Alex has been doing so good today thus far, so we increased him to 3 already. It's pretty cool we can control Alex's hearing with a remote!
As for Al's reactions to noise, at first he was conditioned to look up when he heard beeping. When the beeping would go off, he would look up to a bunny and bear in a box moving about. He was hilarious trying to trick us into thinking he was hearing. He would sporadically look where the animals would be and wait for them to come on so Gina would make sure to beep in his ear when he was playing. When he would hear, he automatically stopped what he was doing and looked up. What a great moment! It seemed like he liked hearing the beeps because he was smiled and continued playing.
Then, Gina advised us we were going to go live with the implants which means he would hear our voices and any sounds going on at that time. This was the moment I was dreaming of since his hearing impairment was diagnosed. He was going to hear his mother. I was hoping it would sooth him and he would look at me and smile. On the contrary, I made him cry hysterically! Gina had warned us he would probably cry so we were prepared. Funny, but even though Alex was super scared and upset, I was so happy smiling while my baby cried away. He quieted very fast and acted normal afterwards. Yay! I make him cry but can also comfort him!
After more talking, a very wonderful person came in Gina's office. Dr. Papsin popped his head in t deliver something to Gina. Right away I went over and asked to hug him which he accepted. After our hug he told my husband he wasn't getting a hug from him. This man has such an ability to make you feel comfortable and happy, turn tears into laughter. He is such a miracle worker and forever I'll be grateful to him.
At the end of the hour, we had to make our way down the hall to the research lab. Since Alex had bilateral implants (on both sides) he has to participate in a research study. He had to do a ABR test. It was long but Alex did so well. The people who work there are amazing with kids and in no way Alex would ever be traumatized by it. At a few points when the volume was too loud, Alex's face began to turn red and he would cry but it was momentary. After it was done, I decided to put his processors back on. All day so far, every time we put them on him he cries.
It must be so scary to hear when you've gone almost a year without it. Now as I am typing here and as Alex is taking his nap, I can't wait until he wakes up and I can stick those processors on him! I am waiting for the moment when the crying wont come. Also, I never realised what a chatter box I can be. Literally I have not stooped talking to Alex...even my husband noticed. well the Rouleau house will not be a quiet house anymore! I was so looking forward to this day, now it has come and past I am looking forward to everything else!
I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the following people:
Dr. Blake Papsin (Al's autolaryngologist and surgeon), Gina (Al's audiologist at HSC), Pat Fuller (The coordinator of the CI program), The entire CI program team at HSC, the nurses and staff on floor 5A in the recovery unit from surgery, Laurie Shaffer (audiologist at Hotel Dieu Sauver), Jennifer Dunlop (our family support worker and social worker), Angelina Cook (Al's Auditory Verbal Therapist), The audiology staff at Chedoke Hospital and everyone who has helped us get to this point! Sorry if I missed anyone but know we love you all!
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