The phone's in the toilet

So I got to work yesterday and my boss had no cell phone. He'd accidentally dropped it in the (clean) toilet the night before and he was frustrated that he'd have to go spend another $300 on a new phone.

This is where knowing a couple of kids with cochlear implants came in handy! I raced back home to retrieve a dry n' store machine (we still call them that, not sure what they say these days-we're old school) and although I couldn't save his battery, the phone is fine! Most people have never even heard of these machines which will basically dehumidify electronics. So, if you drop your cell in pool or toilet or lake, etc. find a friend with a cochlear implant, they might have just what you need!!!

Blakely Updates

Can you tell it's tax season? I am usually a substitute teacher so I'm used to having off days which I use to play blog catch up but those "off" days are filled at the accounting office this time of the year so I rarely see them anymore. I'm usually at one place or another. I have just a few quick bullets for the Blakely kids and more on the way later...

• Brook will be performing as a Chipette tonight singing "Single Ladies". Yes, my deaf child will dance with her two buddies from church to music that she has been gifted to hear, and sing with a voice that God chose to give her even though He didn't have to. I hope to capture it on video and post a small section of later!
• Brook's FM mic is still out. She needs it, I hope it comes in next week so she can hear better in the classroom. She is doing fine without it, her teacher is fantastic but she needs her mic.
• Gage doesn't use his mic. I'm gonna talk to his Audiologist and see about changing his mix when the mic is on. They do a lot of class participation. He can hear his teacher fine, and clarity is much better with the mic. However, during class discussions or when someone else answers or asks a question, he can't hear them due to the mix on his processors. We have always had it set where the teacher is prominent and background is highly reduced but we are at a point where we need a more even mix so that he gets equal parts teacher and peers.
• He goes in a couple of weeks for Mapping again. He's always went monthly but we didn't have a Feb. appointment set up so he goes in March. He's already starting to need it too. For some reason, maybe his ear malformations, he can't "hold" a good map for more than five weeks. He never has. He's always went in monthly for mapping since he was three. Brook is at a point where she can go practically yearly, and for the common ci user, this is probably average at this point. She's had her's for 5 years now.
• Otherwise, the kids are doing great. They are talking, screaming, fighting, loving, "going out" with people (lol), hanging with friends, singing, dancing, riding four wheelers, going to birthday parties....basically the average kids.

Vestibular Study Part 2

Wednesday we travelled down to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the second and final part of the Vestibular Study the kids participated in. This time they got to ride in that special chair that could spin around and they also did something with neck muscles as well in another type of test. Very interesting stuff I must add. To top it all off, I revealed that they will each earn some ca$h for their participation, I agreed to take them to Toys R Us in the near future to spend their hard earned money. I didn't tell them at first because I wanted them to participate at will and not for the money and besides they would have asked the doctor "where's my money?"