Thursday, June 24, 2010

Bilateral Ben

Ben had his second Cochlear Implant Surgery yesterday at OHSU. We were lucky this time, because Ben was the Dr.'s first case of the day. Poor little Ben only had to wait an hour and a half for his surgery time. By the time they finally took him, he was starving and terrified of anyone wearing a blue outfit. He gladly said bye bye as we walked him down the hall to the OR. He had no idea what was to come.
We were called back to consult with the surgeon after only 2 hours. He said everything went perfectly. No complications, no gushers, and all the electrodes fired when the audiologist tested the implant!

After another hour and a half we finally got to hold Ben again. He was confused, groggy, and mad. The nurses were insistent on Ben drinking something before going home. But, true to his personality, Ben stuck to his own plan and refused. They let us go home at one o'clock!
Ben slept, puked, and moaned the rest of the day. He was not a happy camper. Later that night, he drank some apple juice and ate one of his favorite peanut butter cookies.

Day 2 has been much better. He woke up this morning with the gauze and head strap around his mouth. It's earlier than recommended to have it off, but we were surprised it lasted that long.

He started holding his head up on his own mid-morning and was able to eat lunch in his high chair.

Overall, Ben's recovery has been better this time around. Our biggest problem is trying to keep him from falling. His balance is terrible but doesn't stop him from continually trying to walk, crawl, and sit on his own. He doesn't want any help and pushes us away.

I dug out Ben's old walker. This gave him some ability to get around on his own. We have even had a few smiles today (and five popsicles. Mom's a sucker!).


Ben's activation will be on July 6th. Soon he will find out how worthwhile these two miserable days have been.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Neigh


On Wednesday, July 23 (in two days!) Ben will get his second Cochlear Implant.
We are nervous and excited all rolled into one.

We have done lots of reading and research to help guide our decision. Ultimately, we are thinking about Ben's future as a hearing and speaking boy. In this case, having two ears is better than one.

Ben has been talking and listening so much lately. He just loves to listen and mimic sounds people, animals, or objects make. Whenever we get out of the truck Ben says "ep ep ep" along with the beep of the open door.

Today he was waving "die, die" (bye, bye) to Grandma's horses and signing horse at the same time. If you listen closely, he says "neigh, neigh" when I ask him what the horse says. He was at least 20 feet away from me with his back turned!

He hears. It's amazing. I can't wait to hear what he will be saying after 5 months with two ears!