So much to tell you!

I apologize for not updating in some time. Two weeks ago Hayden got a cold and was lovely enough to share with me. Unfortunately, that was at the same time that my white blood cell count was on a natural decline due to my chemo and I got sick myself last week. The part of the white blood cells that actually fight infection was below 1000 which is bad. So, the options were go to the hospital or get a shot, IV antibiotics and finish those in pills for a week. I went with option #2. After a day or 2, I was back up, but more cautious than I have been. I cancelled a couple of school events so I could limit my exposure to germs, but not to worry, I'm back to my normal self.

Halloween was fun. Anna was a green monster bride, Sydney was a cheerleader, and Hayden was a ninja. My friend Odessa and I took the kids to a local shopping center that has trick or treating. There were a lot of families enjoying a great evening and lots of candy. Odessa then took the girls to a friend's neighborhood where the kids got even more candy. All in all, the kids had fun.

This past weekend was just lovely. Anna & Sydney had their last soccer games for the season. Each had a lot of fun and made new friends. They want to play again next season so we will have to see how that works out. They got their first trophies and were quite proud of themselves.

We also celebrated Anna's 9th birthday on Sunday. She and 9 girls had rock star makeovers at Justice Just for Girls. They had a blast. It was the right size party for the right length of time. Her actual birthday was also Election Day. We had a quiet evening. The girls played with a friend in the back yard, we then had a quick dinner, opened presents and had cheesecake for dessert. This is her last year in single digits! My little baby!

Report cards came home yesterday. Both girls made honor roll. We are so proud of how hard they are working at school. They are working just as hard in karate. Anna earned her blue belt and Sydney earned her orange. We are so proud of them.

Hayden, not to be left out, is doing great too. He had a mapping for his implant last week and they did a behavioral booth test. With the implant on, he tested at 20 decibels with voice and almost 60 with tones. Twenty dbs is normal hearing. Tones are harder for little ones to respond too because they aren't interesting. Its harder to turn to a beep or ding. He's very much a 2 year old boy. Today he learned to make the choo choo sound when playing with his trains. Thanks to Miss Jessica, one of his speech therapists, for that. It's so cute seeing him pretend play.

I'll have more to update in the next few weeks. I'll meet with my surgeons again soon for my pre-op visits. Surgery is still on for December 4th. I'll get to enjoy Thanksgiving, take care of a lot of school business, then be down for several weeks. Watch for updates!

Firsts

Today was the first day of school for Anna & Sydney. Sydney was teary eyed when we left her in her class, but I know she'll be fine. Her teacher, Miss Branch, was Anna's 1st grade teacher too. Anna was also a little nervous when we left but had her friend Richard sitting next to her in class. She has 2 teachers, Mrs. Valicevic for homeroom and Language Arts and Mrs. Kelley for Math and Science. Both teachers seem really nice. I think this is going to be a great school year.

Hayden had his first mapping session today. This was where he got the external part of the implant, the processor, and it was turned on for the first time. He did great! He kept it on for a good part of the session and has been wearing it since we got home. It's on a very low volume right now, but we are going to try to turn it up several levels before we see the audiologist tomorrow morning. This pictures shows one of the body worn styles. He can also wear this behind the ear when we think he's ready.

Hayden survived!

Of course our little one came through his surgery with flying colors! We got to the hospital a little before 10 am on Monday. He was able to play along with all the other children who were having surgery that day. Despite not having eaten since the night before and having no water for a few hours, Hayden was in great spirits. He played and cuddled all morning.

The surgery was scheduled for noon, but Hayden didn't go into the OR until close to 1 pm. All the doctors came out to talk with us and explain again what was going to happen. He had a great team of doctors and nurses to care for him. The surgery was over at 3:30 and he was taken into recovery. Jason and I waited with him for close to an hour before he woke up. When he finally did, boy was he mad! He didn't like being hooked up to all the wires and iv and he didn't like the big cup he had on his ear. Once I was able to hold him and he could drink some apple juice, he calmed down. After another apple juice, popsicle and water, we all agreed that he would be okay to go home. They had a room ready for him and we prepared to stay the night, but his vitals were great and he was keeping liquids down, so there wasn't much reason to keep him.

Hayden slept off and on during rush hour traffic home, but was never sick, thank goodness! He slept for several more hours at home as well. He did have a rough night, but I think he was much more comfortable at home than he would have been at the hospital. Finally at 5 am, he had some applesauce and was able to go to sleep again.

We were so proud of Hayden. He was such a trooper and dealt with this so much better than either of us would have. He even kept his bandages on all day yesterday. That actually is a good sign that we won't have a lot of trouble keeping his processor on. Activation day is August 25th which is also the first day of school for Anna and Sydney.

The girls stayed with a friend of ours, Julie, who is also an audiologist with Texas Children's. Anna and Sydney are the same ages as her 2 oldest girls and they all go to school together. It was nice to know they were having fun during this whole experience and we didn't have to worry about them.

Now we face a new set of challenges. Hayden is now, essentially, deaf in his right ear. There is a small chance for some residual hearing, but we won't know that until the swelling goes down and his ear heals. Physical and speech therapy will also change some. He'll also have to learn to keep his processor on all day and relearn to listen and understand sound. He's a smart kid and had hearing prior to this so he's already got a head start. Wish us luck!

Hayden is getting implanted!

Jason and I got an email late on Wednesday letting us know that Hayden has a surgery date for his cochlear implant. The surgery is for Monday, July 21st. Yep, Monday. We are so excited. We've waited for a long time to get this for Hayden and now it's finally here. The surgery is set for noon and is about 3 hours long with an hour in recovery. I'm insisting that he spend the night. His surgeon, Dr. Vrabec, does this surgery as outpatient, but his partner has the kids spend the night for observation. Most of the kids bounce back from surgery very quickly so I'm not expecting any problems, but just being cautious.

Before surgery, Hayden will have a small area behind his right ear shaved. A small incision is made and part of the skull is opened to create a nesting place for the internal device. There is also a coil that is fed into the cochlea. Then he's sewn up. That's the nutshell version, but you get the idea. After he's had time to heal (3-4 weeks), we'll go in and he will have the external component put on. The 2 devices are connected by a magnet, so it is easy to put on and take off. This first picture shows the behind the ear version. Hayden will grow into that, but for now he'll have the body worn.

The second picture shows how sound is normally received.
1. Ear canal: Sound moves through the ear canal and strikes the eardrum.
2. Eardrum and bones: Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, sending the bones in the middle ear into motion.
3. Inner ear: This motion causes the fluid inside the inner ear (cochlea) to move the hair cells.
4. Hearing nerve: Hair cells change the movement into electric impulses, which are sent to the hearing nerve into the brain; you hear sound.

The third picture shows sound being processed with the cochlear implant.
1. Sound processor: External sound processor captures sound and converts it into digital signals.
2. Digital signals: Processor sends digital signals to internal implant.
3. Electrode array: Internal implant converts signals into electrical energy, sending it to an electrode array inside the cochlea.
4. Hearing nerve: Electrodes stimulate hearing nerve, bypassing damaged hair cells, and the brain perceives signals as sound

All of these pictures are from http://www.cochlear.com/. Here is a site that shows how AN kids hear and what the implant will sound like http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/hesp/Simulations/simulationsmain.htm.