Positive

It seems as if an eternity has gone by since Wednesday. We have learned A LOT about ears, auditory nerves, hearing aids, cochlear implants, evaluations, hearing tests and the list goes on! However, we are feeling positive and optimistic about Courtney's situation, at least right now...

The Sunshine Cottage has been an excellent resource for us and we have our first meeting with them this Wednesday morning. They have already sent us our enrollment forms for the Parent Infant Program which we will need to bring with us when we go. While we are there they will fit Courtney for hearing aids. We don't know at this point if they will work, but we have to exhaust all options. Any help from them is better than nothing and it should take about two weeks before we will get them. Fortunately, the hearing aids and the program are free until she is 3 years old. We just have to commit to going once per week to parenting sessions where we will learn techniques and strategies to help Courtney and our whole family. One of the Parent Infant Advisors, who has a profoundly deaf child, shared with us her story which offered much comfort and support. When I asked if Courtney truly has the possibility to be auditory and verbal, her response was, "Yes! I can tell you unequivocally, yes!" A brief moment of relief and hope.

In the afternoon on Wednesday we also have an appointment with Dr. Bonilla (Ped.ENT). We spoke with him Friday morning and he wants to wait to do a CT and/or MRI scan until we meet with Dr. Sims (Neurotologist) on Thursday. He doesn't want to radiate her until it is absolutely necessary. In the future to determine if Courtney is a good candidate for cochlear implants we will have to have a CT and or MRI to ensure all parts of her ears are atomically correct. From what Bryan and I understand, both doctors will work together and begin full assessments and a complete work up on Courtney this week. Dr. Bonilla is going to "introduce" us to Dr. Sims before our appointment and have the written ABR results to him as well.

Again, we feel very positive about Courtney's future and we are 100% confident we are in good hands. We are trying to take everything one step at a time and educate ourselves on raising a deaf child. A great resource, among many, is http://www.raisingdeafkids.org/ .