New Sounds for Sophie

Over the course of the last month, we have begun to notice when Sophie is hearing something new or for the first time:) We play a listening game where when she hears something, she makes a surprise face and points to her ear. Either the HA ear or the CI ear. Here is a list of the surprise face sounds:
her brothers playing in the back of the house!
the water running in the kitchen sink!
my blinker on my van!
my cell phone ringing!
door bell ringing!
the horn on my car!
dryer!
water in washing machine!
dishwasher!
microwave and the "bing" when food is ready!
Gosh I am sure there are more! It has been so exciting to see her face when she notices a new sound. It is like watching her take her first steps again and again! Her AVT says she is doing wonderful!!!!! They are having to come up with new goals because she is flying thru the ones they have already set for her. She is making me so proud!!! Way to go SOPHIE!!!

Price's 1st day of school

Price completed his first day of school with flying colors. His teacher, Mrs Kathy, said that he was so sweet and is going to be a great asset to the class. She said that he was singing "his heart out" when they sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider." She also said that he played wonderfully with all the other children. GOSH!!! My little man is in "big boy school." Tomorrow he will start riding the bus. I WILL get pictures of that!!!! I am sure I might cry seeing him taken away by the "cheese wagon." HAHA!!! Tomorrow will be Sophie's first day going to school by herself :( Sophie and Price have been together since Sophie was born. Price would hold Sophie's hand and bring her to her class every day. Now she will have to go alone:( I am sure I am more upset than she will be!!!!

Price starts Pre-K

Back in August Price was evaluated through the Livingston Parish School Board, for developmental delays due to his hearing loss. He was found to have some mild delays in speech do to his hearing loss which made him eligible for services through the school system. He qualified for speech therapy, a teacher of the hearing impaired, an audiologist, and assistive technology. Due to an opening he is also eligible for a spot in a reversed mainstream Pre-K class at a local elementary school. This is a class that is compiled of "normal" developing peers along with children with special needs. This class is for 3 and 4 year olds; therefore, Price will attend this year and next. I think he is going to do great. We had our first IEP meeting on Tuesday and I was VERY happy with all that was written out for Price. I could not believe how detailed and organized it was. His teacher and his therapists seem to be on target with Price's needs. I was very impressed. So we decided that he will start on Monday. YAY!!! I am kinda nervous but I know this is going to be a great step in his educational life. I am very thankful.

Sophie's Activation Day

Sophie, Molly (my sister), Amy (my sister), and myself drove down to New Orleans last Friday for Sophie's activation. For some reason I was VERY nervous. I was so curious as to what was going to happen I suppose. The appointment was actually a lot more calm than I was expecting. Claire, Sophie's audiologist, is the sweetest ever. She was so thorough with everything she was doing and telling us. She first explained how the processor worked and how to put it all together and all the different ways Sophie can wear it. Then she pulled out this HUGE box of stuff that went along with it. WOW, that was pretty overwhelming. I am still scared to open it. The "box" is not to be touched by anyone but me! When Claire initially put the processor on Sophie and then turned it on, Sophie turned to me and smiled. I knew she was hearing something. That was sooo exciting. Then my sister's and I were like, "Sophie can you hear me," "Sophie, say MaMa," "Sophie, say "Molly." HAHAHAHA!!! Sophie was smiling and playing with all the toys the entire time. After a while, she did get tired of being in the room so we decided to give her a break and walk around a bit. Her processor is HOT PINK!!!! The cutest thing ever. It matches her Hearing Aid she wears in the other ear. After leaving the mapping session we went shopping at the local mall and I was very nervous leaving the "box" in the car while we shopped. And I was also nervous about her having something so expensive on her ear and walking around the mall. I am so scared we will loose it!!!! But I have found out it doesn't fall off very easily. Although, after getting back to my sister's house that day, Sophie was playing and ended up standing really closely to one of her walls in her kitchen. Come to find out some of the walls in my sister's house have metal on top of the wood but under the paint (unable to see by looking at them). Well when Sophie walked away from the wall, the processor and the coil were stuck to the wall and Sophie was saying "Uh, Ohhhh" and pointing at the processor. It was really funny!!!! It gave us a good laugh. I am very pleased with how Sophie is doing since being activated. There are 4 programs we are to go thru by the time we go back to her second mapping. We are already to the 4th program. Sophie has never minded me increasing the volume or jumping to the next program. Although I do find she is A LOT more tired at the end of the day. So all in all, I am VERY happy I made this decision for her. I can't wait for her AV therapist to see her on Friday. And to hear what she has to say about Sophie's progress in one week. WAY TO GO SOPHIE JANE!!!! MOMMY IS SOOOO PROUD OF YOU!!!!

Great News

Our pediatrician wanted to have all our children tested to see if they may have characteristics of Alport's Syndrome. Alport's Syndrome is a condition that affects connective tissue in the ears (progressive hearing loss), eyes (cataract's), and kidneys (filtering toxins out of blood). The initial testing beings on urine specimens. Andrew and Sophie's tests came back negative for blood which was great! Price has had 2 urinalysis's' both showing small amounts of blood. Hematura, blood in urine, is a characteristic of Alport's sydrome. So needless to say, yesterday I was a complete mess. With the syndrome comes complete kidney failure in males between the ages of 20 and 30 years of age. But after talking with a nephrologist, he doesn't think this is the case with Price. There should be a family history that shows kidney disease. After talking with family members there is no one who has ever had this problem on either Mike or I's side. So that is great news. Although we now have to monitor Price to make sure the hematuria doesn't get worse. Doc said that some children have this issue and grow out of it as they get older. So we will continue to have checkups to make sure all stays the same or goes away. THANK YOU JESUS!!! But don't think I wasn't on my hands and knees begging Him for my children's health. Oh this week I also decided that I was going to start selling Mary Kay. I have been wanting to for a long time but now that money is getting tight, I thought I would give it a try. My goal is to have a debt free Christmas. So we shall see how it goes. www.marykay.com/mikki.spence if you would like to check out our products or make a purchase. Hope everyone is having a great week! The cooler weather sure is nice.

1 week until activation...

I am so excited for Sophie that she will soon experience the gift of hearing. It is still amazing to me the technology that is going to be enabling her nerve and brain to hear. You know some people may say that we should have left her ears like they were, that God made her that way. But you know God gave others the gift of knowledge and extrinsic thought to be able to engineer a device that will allow sound to be transfered into electrical impulses in order to stimulate a tiny little nerve that allows a person to interpret it as true sound. Their wisdom is helping my little girl and thousands of others experience what most of us take for granted, SOUND. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN MAKING THIS SUCH A BLESSING FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT HEAR. I wonder if she is going to cry when she hears the first beeps and buzzes through her CI? I wonder if she is going to want to keep it on? I think she is going to do great, regardless of her initial reaction. Price is so excited about Sophie's new "magic ear." He said he wants one of those too! I think this is going to be an exciting time for our entire family. I can't wait!!!!! I am going to video her activation and will try to post on our blog (never done that before).

What a week!!!!

Has anyone ever had one of those weeks where on Friday you finally get home from working a 40 hour week job, taken all of your kids to at least one doctor appt, driven to New Orleans for a 15 minute checkup, taken two children to therapy and had to fit in sleep and food and try to get a little sanity along the way????? Well that was my week...Sophie had her checkup from her surgery and all is great! Her incision looks wonderful and is healing just fine. Her ear is still draining a little. But all in all she is back to her little prissy self! You can definitely tell she is not hearing anything from that ear. Her activation is October 3rd. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait. Price and Andrew are both doing well. Andrew started ADD medication this week. I have been told for about 2 years from his teachers that they thought he should be tested. Last year he was diagnosed but I was so scared to give him medication for it. I finally was able to see this year how much he is struggling and decided to give it a try. And we have already seen a difference. Andrew says he feels more focused at school and he is feeling more confident in his Math class. Andrew, Price and Sophie all have allergy issues this week. So we are battling runny noses and red watery eyes and coughs. Price and Sophie's therapy is going great. Shelley, Sophie's therapist, says she is doing great. She wants to videotape her next week so she can use it when she quest speaks at LSU and Southeastern. Price is coming along with his speech. Sometimes I feel he needs more therapy because I can't really understand much of what he is saying but then there are times were I think he is doing well. The only reason Sophie is able to see Shelley is because Early Steps is providing the services for her. Our insurance does not cover Shelley, the only AVT in Louisiana. The therapist that is working with Price has only had 4 other HOH children in her career. So I am not sure what I should do??? Price did get evaluated in August thru the Livingston Parish School board but we have not yet met with the IEP coordinator to review the eval and put the options on the table of what he will be eligible for. So I am kinda caught in limbo with that. AHHHH!!! Gosh! I feel like I have a lot going on...but I don't like to complain. Next week will be better, less stress!!

Surgery a Success!

Surgery went great! Sophie had been such a trooper. Dr. Molony said the surgery was a success and he thinks that she will recover very well. She does look a little like someone who has had major brain surgery. Her bandages were a little overwhelming at first but they are definitely serving a purpose. The pressure from the tight bandages are to allow the extra blood to be forced out of her incision instead of swelling behind her skin. She is sleeping soundly with her bottle of pedialite tightly in one hand and her baby doll in the other. Everyone's prayers have definitely been at work today for Sophie. Thank you so much for taking time out and thinking of my baby girl! Thanks also to KK and ReRe for being there for me today. I got very emotional when all the Dr's and nurses wanted to go over all the risks of surgery and anesthesia. I could not have done it without them. KK is such a great cousin to Sophie! Sophie loves her so much!!!

New Orleans bound...

We are now here at the Brent House Hotel. Sophie's surgery is for 8:00 am tomorrow morning. My mom and my neice, KK, came with Sophie and I. Mike was unable to get off of work due to all the work he missed because of the hurricane. Here are a few pics of Sophie on the way over in the car and in the hotel room. We ate at Picadilly for dinner tonight. YUMMO!!! We have just been playing around in the hotel room and laughing at Sophie do funny tricks:)

Anxious Mom before surgery

This last week has definitely gotten my mind off of Sophie's surgery. All the aftermath after Hurricane Gustave has sure kept us busy. But now as the dust settles, I start to worry about surgery day. I know that it is just a motherly feeling we have when our children have to undergo a hospital stay. I am more worried about the anesthesia more than anything. But she will be well taken care of and the Lord will keep her under His wings. We were able to reschedule our hotel room but they said that Emergency workers have been occupying the rooms and we may not have our room when we get there. Luckily my sister lives about 30 minutes from New Orleans in Covington so we may have to camp out there the night after the surgery. We have to stay over night near New Orleans because Sophie has a follow appt scheduled the day after surgery at the Dr.'s office. All has worked out so far so I am sure that this will too!

WE FINALLY HAVE POWER & SOPHIE'S SURGERY GOT MOVED UP!!!

OK, we are back in action. Although we don't have power at our house, my parents got theirs back last night and cable and internet just now (7:43 pm, Thursday). It actually wasn't that bad. The humidity is what made us so sticky and hot!!! But thank you Jesus for letting us make it through it without going crazy. The heat does make your temper rise a bit! The screaming children who are running around with diapers and underwear on because it is too sweltering to put clothes on doesn't make the temperature feel any cooler either. Gosh, I am glad it is over...Although my parents will have to put up with us until our power comes back on...they say 1-2 weeks. YIKES!! Sophie's CI surgery was scheduled for next Thursday the 11th in New Orleans, but they called today to move it up to Tuesday the 9th due to a cancellation. YEAH!!!! I know it is only 2 days but that means we are 2 days closer to our baby girl hearing!!! I just hope we can now schedule a hotel room for that night...

AVT-Speech Banana

Sophie has been doing exceptionally well in her therapy. We meet with Shelley once a week for one hour at a time. Shelley says that Sophie is getting great sound with her hearing aids. Sophie loves her learning to listen sounds. She is suprising me every minute. She brings me her little books all the time because she loves looking at the pictures and making the sounds that go with each one. I can't imagine once she gets her CI. I am almost second guessing myself whether or not she needs one. Although, I know she is still not getting ALL she needs for language development but she is doing so good. Shelley and everyone else reinforces that the CI will bring her to a level to where she hears EVERYTHING. And will not miss anything. Her aids only bring her to 35 dbls and then it drops off drastically at around 1000-2000. Unaided she is around the 90-100 dbls. Those hearing aids must be pretty powerful!!!! Gosh, what wonderful technology there is out there!!!

Stay Away Hurricane Gustav!!!!

As of today Hurricane Gustav is headed straight for New Orleans and predicted to hit next Monday, Labor Day. My daughters CI surgery is Sept 11 in New Orleans. If anything like Katrina, New Orleans could be out of commission for a while after landfall. This would have to be the second cancelled surgery for Sophie. I know I shouldn't think that far ahead but I can't help it. I pray that the hurricane just disappears. I don't wish it to go anywhere else for others to have to experience such dreadful weather. I just hope those levee's hold up this time if it does hit near New Olreans. If they do then I am sure her surgery will stay as planned.

Cochlear Implant Approval!!! HOORAY!!!

We have received approval from our insurance (UHC) for Sophie's CI. HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT!!! We were originally scheduled for surgery on Aug. 5th but things didn't work out as planned and things had to be moved. I am so nervous about the surgery. Although I know she is going to be fine but everything under the sun runs through my mind and I get all worked up. Surgery is going to be at Ochsner in New Orleans, by Dr. Timothy Molony. He is a wonderful surgeon and I know he and his staff will take great care of her. Now we will be counting down the days!!!!!

Emotional Ups and Downs

As a mother I try to stay positive about most issues that arise. But sometimes they get the best of me and I end up angry and agitated. Referring back to the diagnosis of my children having hearing problems I was VERY upset, especially finding out about my son, Price. I was sad for him. I was sad knowing that he would have to do double the work to get where he needs to go, example school. I was so worried that children would make fun of him or that he was going to have a speech problem and everyone would know he had a hearing problem. All of these feelings rushed over me in seconds of finding out it was HOH. When I found out about Sophie, even though hers was worse of a diagnosis, I was not upset that much. I was almost happy to know that they, Sophie and Price, would have someone very close to them to relate to and they could lean on each other for support. Yes, I was very sad that my beautiful daughter could not hear me telling her that I LOVED HER the 1 million times I probably said it to her but seeing the smile on her face every day I know she felt it. When they got their hearing aids, it was one of the happiest days for me because I knew they were finally getting what they needed. Especially Sophie! She was finally getting sound into those little tiny ears! She was very scared at first. I think the sound was so new to her that it frightened her a little. Each day we had to spend 10-15 min. getting Sophie adjusted to the sound. But once she settled into the sound she loved it. Knowing that there is so much out there for my children makes this so much easier for a parent. Everyone from our current audiologists to the cochlear implant surgeon has been so wonderful to us. But one person in particular has been a blessing, her name is Donna Embree. She works for the LA School for the Deaf and is apart of the Parent Pupil Program. She has given me and my family so much help. Any questions I have she has been the 1st person I call. I thank Jesus that there are people out there that care so much to give their time to other individuals to help them in a time of need. If it wasn't for the wonderful people I have met in the past 3 months I am sure I would not have the same feelings as I do now. But the day I found out about their hearing problems was the first day I began researching. I don't think one day has past that I didn't look up something pertaining to hearing loss. But you know what, I have no time to waist. My children fell through the cracks somehow for early diagnosis, so it is my job as a parent to get them where they need to be. But let me tell you, I love it! My mission in life is my family! And doing all I can to better their wellbeing is my number one mission. But one thing I can say, is yes God blessed my children with an impairment but it surely wasn't one that He meant to keep them down. My children are very outgoing! It does not slow them down at all. Our God is an awesome God! I thank Him every day for my children and all that comes with them.

Untreated Hearing Loss in Children has Dire Consequences by Paula Rosenthal, J.D.

August 04, 2008
Untreated Hearing Loss in Children has Dire Consequences
Posted in: Hearing Loss Research, Legislation, kids with hearing loss, unilateral hearing loss
Washington, DC, August 3, 2008 – Too many children with hearing loss aren't getting adequate help and are being put at risk for social, emotional, behavioral, and learning difficulties, the Better Hearing Institute warned today, citing a national study exploring the unforeseen consequences of untreated hearing loss in America's children. The warning comes just as educators and parents are preparing for the start of school, and as Democratic and Republican policymakers are preparing their party platforms for the November elections.
In a recent national study Are 1 Million Dependents with Hearing Loss in America Being Left Behind? BHI found that America's children are paying a high price for the pitfalls in how parents, educators, the healthcare community, and policymakers are addressing hearing loss in our youth.
"Children need to be able to hear, not just in the classroom, but also because hearing affects language competence, cognitive development, social and emotional well-being, and academic achievement," said Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D., executive director of BHI. "Children who cannot hear well-that is, when their hearing loss is untreated or under-treated-could face a life of underperformance and broken dreams."
The scientific literature is clear that untreated hearing loss affects nearly all dimensions of the human experience. And the pediatric literature demonstrates that even children with "minimal" hearing loss are at risk academically compared to their normal hearing peers.
"Based on our findings, I am concerned that a sizeable population of young people in America is being left behind because they do not fit existing paradigms of hearing disability," said otolaryngologist Dr. William Luxford of the House Ear Clinic, a BHI Board member and co-author of the study. "We need a fundamental re-examination of the current hearing health policies and protocols influencing America's children with hearing loss."
According to Kochkin, also a study co-author, the findings indicate that too many educators, pediatricians, and other healthcare providers underestimate the impact of mild or unilateral (affecting one ear) hearing loss. As a result, hundreds of thousands of children are left vulnerable to a wide range of social, emotional, behavioral, and academic problems.
A large part of the problem is that many parents today either don't recognize their child's hearing problem, minimize it, or have been given misinformation regarding the ability to treat the child's hearing loss. In fact, at least 50 percent of parents don't go back for detailed testing when their infant fails an initial hearing screening.
According to Kochkin, some of the most alarming findings from the study include the following:
Only 12 percent of children under the age of 18 with hearing loss use hearing aids; yet an estimated 1.5 million youth (including adult dependents) under the age of 21 have hearing loss that may be improved with amplification.
The study found no evidence of the use of any form of hearing assistance in the classroom (e.g. FM systems, hearing aids, speakers), other than front-row seating.
Hearing loss leaves children vulnerable to other problems, according to three out of four parents of children with hearing loss. Common problem areas include:
Social skills (52%)
Speech and language development (51%)
Grades in school (50%)
Emotional health (42%)
Relationships with peers (38%)
Self-esteem (37%)
Relationships with family (36%)
Three in ten parents (32%) cite embarrassment or other social stigma issues as a reason their child does not use a hearing aid.
One out of five (22%) parents says they are unable to afford hearing devices.
Four in ten parents were told that their child did not need amplification because they had hearing loss in only one ear.
Two in ten parents were mistakenly told that their child could not be helped because they had high frequency hearing loss. Another 20 percent were told they could not be helped because they had a low frequency hearing loss.
Key educational and public policy questions raised by the study include the following:
Do educators, medical doctors, and hearing healthcare professionals underestimate the impact of mild and unilateral hearing loss on children?
Are pediatricians sufficiently trained to measure hearing loss and advise parents of treatment options?
Is the prevalence of treatable hearing loss among children under-represented in the United States when subjective methodology (e.g., parental awareness) is used to assess hearing loss?
Do parents have viable options for paying for hearing aids for their children if they can't personally afford them?
Why are only a minority of children in America with hearing loss recipients of amplification, and what can be done in the medical and hearing health profession to make sure that all children receive adequate help for their hearing loss?
Are too many young people in America being left behind because they don't fit existing models of hearing disability?
Are 1 Million Dependents with Hearing Loss in America Being Left Behind was conducted by BHI among a national sample of parents of 225 youth from infancy to age 21-all of whom were reported by their parents to have hearing loss and not use hearing aids. The authors of this study also included Dr. Jerry Northern (Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado School of Medicine), Pam Mason (Director of Audiology professional practices at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and Dr. Anne Marie Tharpe (Professor of Audiology at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine).
"The findings of this study come as a shrill reminder that parents, healthcare providers, and educators must thoroughly address a child's hearing loss if we are to allow that child a fair and equitable opportunity for success," Kochkin continues. "Moreover, it provides an impetus for further dialogue among parents, educators, healthcare providers, and policymakers on how we can better serve our children with hearing loss."
Founded in 1973, BHI is a not-for-profit educational organization whose mission is to educate the public about hearing loss, its treatment and prevention.

Cochlear Implant

In June we took Sophie to New Orleans to see Dr. Molony at Ochsner Medical Center regarding a Cochlear Implant. I was very pleased with his explanation of the CI process and his role in it. We also met the Claire, one of the audiologist there. She was very nice and was extremely informative. We left with a CAT scan scheduled for the next week. Sophie's CAT scan came out great so insurance "we thought" was sent in and we received a surgery date of Aug 5. A week before the surgery date we were told that insurance had not gone thru due to a mishap in the insurance department and they would have to resend everything to our insurance and it would be another 30 days before we would have an approval for surgery. I was terribly upset. Again I wrote more letters to those i thought should receive them and have moved on. It has now been two weeks since our insurance company received the surgery prenotification and I call everyday to find out if it has been approved. I also received a response from Dr. Molony saying that he will do everything he can to expedite the surgery. That made me happy!!!!

I am LOVING this ride!

I wish I could tell you how much I am now so interested in the world of Hearing Impaired and/or Hard of Hearing. I still do not have all of the correct lingo and terminology down pact but this is all fasinating me. Everyday I read and learn more and more on what is out there for my children that I never even new existed. Cochlear Implants??? WOW!!!! Digital Hearing Aids that are bluetooth compatible???? Oh my gosh!!!! This is all so interesting to me! And I am loving it all. Yes my children have a handicap but will I let it stop them? NO WAY!!!! I may/will push them harder than I would if they could hear on a normal level without their aids. Price has been fitted and currently wearing Seimens Explorers, of course one is purle and one is gold for LSU!!!! How awesome is that! Sophie has been fitted and is currently aided with Oticon, Personics. And her's are HOT PINK!!! TOO CUTE!!! They both are doing great with them. We have never really had a problem with them not wanting them on. I think they both realized very quickly the difference with and without them. I am so proud of both of them. They suprise me every day. Andrew has also accepted this new way of life VERY WELL. Andrew puts them on the kids, takes them off. If one is squelling Andrew will go and fix whose ever it is. Andrew works well with both Price and Sophie during therapy time. Or shall I say "Learning to Listen Time." Sophie has began saying all kind of words and sounds. We have also started incorperating a little of "Baby Signs" with her. WOW, she is moving fast! She is ready communicate. Price sees a Speech Therapist, Stacy, each week and Sophie works with an AudioVerbal Therapist each week. Price will begin speech thru the Livingston Parish School System in a couple of weeks. Although we incorperate AVT at home with both Price and Sophie.

More History

One year after Price and Sophie received their first set of tubes it was time to go back for our yearly check up. I did not think Price (now 3) was not speaking clearly enough for his age and I along with other family memebers still didn't think he was hearing well. Sophie (now 1yr and 3 months old) was not saying MaMa or DaDa, or any of the normal baby words that my other two children spoke at that age. She had also started developing a couple of ear infections in the last couple of months preceeding this visit. So all in all I brought all of this info in with me to the yearly visit with the ENT. He looked in Prices ears and said they look great! Tubes had fallen out and no fluid that he could see. Sophie's early looked a little irritated along with fluid buildup in each ear. I then demanded Price have a hearing screening because I was not satisfied with "his ears LOOK great." Sophie again was ordered to have tubes reinserted in her ears for the fluid. Price failed another OAE in both the left and right ear. And we were FINALLY referred to the Woman's Wellness Center for Price to have a sedated ABR. I had NEVER heard of an ABR before this day. I also learned this test could have been done 3 years ago but no one had ever mentioned this to me. In May 2008 Price faild his first ABR and two weeks later Sophie did too. How devestating this was to hear. I never thought in a million years my children would have something like sensoryneural hearing loss. Price was not responding to anything below 45-55 dbl. And Sophie was not responding to anything below 90 dbl. I asked myself "how could I have missed this?" Why did I not catch this sooner? What happend? Sophie had acquired other ways of communicating with us, thru grunts, gestures, babbling. She also would respond sometimes to her name, she was even repeating some words. Come to find out these are words that were spoken loudly; for example "Andrew" or "aaaachooo" when I would yell ""Andrew" from the back of the house she would sometimes repeat that. So it would reassure me that 'oh she heard me say that.' Price's speach was very fast and only we could make out was he was saing. He was talking a whole lot but 70 % of the time we really didn't understand what he was saying. So again I knew he could hear but I knew deep down that he was still missing some. I do blame myself for the late diagnosis sometimes but I told the pediatrician and ENT that I thought there was something wrong on a couple of different occasions. So should I point the finger or go with the flow? I did write letters to those I felt needed to know my concerns and now it is time to get on board with their new diagnosis' and do what I can to help my babies.

Our summer began by finding out that two of our three children are hearing impaired. WOW! I did think they were having trouble hearing but being told for so long it was because of fluid I never thought I would hear the news that the audiologist told us in May 2008. Let me start from the beginning with Price and Sophie. I had perfect pregnancies. All ultrasounds showed very healthy babies, they had 10 fingers and 10 toes when they were born. On the day I was leaving the hospital with my 2nd and 3rd child, I was told that they failed their heaing test and it was most probably due to fluid and that is very common. NEVER was I told this was a serious issue nor was a follow up test scheduled at that time for them to be retested. I thought I was going home with perfectly healthy babies. My pediatrician for Price never mentioned anything about Price needing to have a follow up exam for his hearing. I never thought about it again. When Price was 1 1/2 he was put into a daycare center and he started getting the very common colds children get. With these colds, he began getting ear infections. Also during this time I was starting to have thoughts that he wasn't hearing very well. After many months battling ear infections and many sleepless nights, Price was sent to an ENT for evaluation for tubes. At that visit I told the ENT that Price failed his infant screening, I thought he was having difficulty hearing, and that I thought it may be due to fluid. The ENT agreed and scheduled Price for tubes the next week. Price did have an OAE done that day and FAILED. The audiologist and ENT said it was probably due to fluid. There was never a follow hearing exam done. Since I was told his hearing difficulty was due to fluid, I again put it in the back of my mind. During this same time my daughter, Sophie was now 4 months old. She also was having recurrent ear infections and had tubes implanted one month after Price. She also had an OAE at her tube consult but again they said it was fluid causing the test to come out like it did. So again thought all was going to be ok!!!!