Kenny and Dave

I know I say this every time we receive a cochlear implant, but once again, I've threatened asked our doctor to please not retire til Gage is at least 18 ! Again, he's given this child something, he did not have.

We know how much Gage loved being bilateral and when one device went a little haywire and could no longer be mapped for his needs, he began to struggle to keep up with basic conversations, especially in school. He quit listening to his music as much and we noticed a definite change. He participated in less conversations and I'll be honest, Gage not talking much is just plain weird!

Some of you don't know how important Kenny Chesney is to the child, but even I began to miss the country singer blaring from his room "I'm Alive and Well" along with Dave Matthews...

Well he's back, and some may remember he had his new device turned on Tues., wore it for a few hours and went back to the O.R. on Wed for some minor repairs to his incisions. It was Friday before he really began wearing his new device on that side, and WOW, after a couple of hours he asked me to 'move him up' to the next program. I did and soon after he ran up to me while he was doing some school work (at home) and said, "Mama, I hear something, plain as day, what is it?" He was all smiles and tickled that he could hear with just this new device! I go into the "silent" room and listen...tick, tock, tick, tock. I told him I heard the clock and he looked up at the kitchen clock, knowing that was it. "But wait! I hear something else, is it the washer? the dryer?" I knew I wasn't doing laundry (lol) and I listened some more. TapTapTapDripDrop...."Oh, you hear that leaking shower head in the bathroom!" He laughed and was happy the mystery had been solved.

I left him home with his Dad Friday and I visited the school to turn in work, and volunteer at Brook's Fall Festival. I left my driveway in tears. I mean, how blessed have we been? It's not so much that he can hear better and he'll do better in school and he'll be able to keep up with conversation...it's that he can hear better and he's so happy & excited about that. It's not the material part of receiving a hearing device that makes a deaf child hear, it's the emotional part, what it gives my child aside from sound. It's that giddy excitement on his face when he runs to his room to listen to music or the restored pride he has when he can follow along and not get left behind after a couple of sentences. He himself is more alive and well, and Kenny Chesney & Dave Matthews are rockin' in the Blakely home once again!!

He also told us yesterday (he's on his current final program for this set) that there is a delay when he removes his coil. He says he can still hear a few seconds after he removes his coil on that side. He can't understand what he's hearing but he swears that he can still hear some sound about 3-4 seconds after the coil is removed. He was being silly yesterday and shouted, "Yay, I'm not deaf anymore!! WooHoo!" as he ran through the house cheering. His brain had convinced him he could still hear sounds. But I removed the visuals, made him turn backwards and not look at what was going on, and he seemed less assured he was hearing w/no coil. Not meaning to rain on his parade but I wanted to know, he almost had me convinced!! lol

He's doing fabulous and he will return to school either Tues. or Thurs. this week (we have appts. on Wed) and next week he goes back to the O.R. to get these final stitches removed and cleaned up really good and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program...