The Teenager

 

 

 

Thirteen

 

I remember my first Mother's Day. I wondered if I would still be a mother a week later, a month later or a year later. People buzzed around me with concern for my newborn child. We become mothers because we have children. This little guy taught me how to be selfless, how to be patient, how to be deaf and then how to hear. My life slowed down and I watched him grow up in slow motion, yet here he is, a teenager.

 

Not long ago I was driving down the road on the way to a Wednesday night church service and I hear a 12 year old voice lift from the back seat, "Mama. I know why you only had two kids." I respond at the odd and random comment, "Oh you do? Okay, let's hear it." He said, "because you didn't want anymore deaf kids. We're a lot of trouble and you didn't want to have to do all that again." I quickly interrupted, "That's not true or I would have never had your sister. You would be an only child." A smile reached his face as we pulled into the parking lot.

 

Children teach their parents just as much as parents teach their children. Families grow and learn how to love each other despite faults and failures. There are times I wake up in the mornings and hear a child's voice that thirteen years ago, I was certain I would never hear. He enjoys his silence at times and will often belt out an old church hymn in the shower and I realize, he can't even hear his own voice...he's just offering it selflessly to his family and to The Lord. He can put his "ears" on and listen to the rain pound our old tin roof and a smile of appreciation will spread across his face. He brings more joy to our family with each passing day and I am so very thankful I was chosen to be his mother.

 

We are honored to own a teenager this day. He is loved, he is appreciated, he is a Blessing. Happy birthday buddy.

Where are The Blakelys?

I can't believe I haven't updated this blog since June! Such a slacking blogger! The Blakelys are still doing well, thank the good Lord! We have been very prosperous in our garden this summer and canned many-a-vegetable! I have pickles, tomatoes, soup starters, pears, spaghetti sauces, and so much more just packing my storage room shelves for this Fall and Winter. 

Since I have taken on a second job, I basically work full-time hours just at a more random schedule so that I remain home with my family as much as possible...makes for one tired mom, but aren't we all? Gage is doing well (as far as I know) over at the high school...yes, I said it...his middle school is all located inside the high school so he's forced to be even more independent. He has always thrived on independence and as long as he's doing well, he should be just that. He goes back for his yearly visit with the cleft palate clinic in December when we will again discuss his orthodontics, his dental issues, his possible jaw distraction for later down the road and we also meet with his nutritionist...kind of a full yearly exam to make sure he is getting as much nutrition as he can, gaining weight properly, etc. As bad as I hate the six hour appointment, it is loaded with information, so we must go.

Brooklyn is doing well in the classroom also. She is well into the fourth grade, very independent though she does still use the personal FM system. Her teacher is one of the softest spoken people ever, but she hears her very well inside the room, along with the mic. I am in and out of the classroom a lot checking since I do work there as a sub teacher, and she appears to be on task, and not really struggling with anything other than math which she has always found to be a little difficult.

The kids have friends, they are happy, they talk, they talk back sometimes, they get into trouble...but they are The Blakelys...happy to call 'em mine!

Almost High School

I've made it through IEPs for next year without tears. I begged and pleaded with the faculty to fail my sixth grader so he doesn't have to go over to that high school building next year, but they refused! For the next three years, I will have children in two different school buildings, several miles apart which will be a challenge but we'll survive I'm confident.

Gman will have classroom notes provided to him since he relies heavily on speech reading. He did great with AVT (Auditory Verbal Therapy) when he was younger but with several replacement/revision surgeries on his implants, he relies on speech reading to help him "hear" in noisy situations. He will not be quizzed on any films or movies without proper captioning and he will have an inclusion teacher which will help as well. Both of my children do small group testing on any state standardized tests.

Brooklyn has improved her speech reading ability over the years but can't be deemed a master by any means, since she can hear better in a classroom (with the aid of her personal FM) and she is all set for fourth grade. I'm very grateful I work at both schools subbing and hope to be at both A LOT next school year!

Swimming with Cochlear

We were invited, along with a few other families, to try out the waterproof swim gear coming out soon from Cochlear. You really can't see the bags from this photo because Gman needed a swim cap to hold them on his little malformed ears but other kids were able to wear them with a small band holding them in place. Are they completely ready for the market, not exactly but with just a few small touch ups I think they'll be a huge hit.

Did they work? YES! They did the job. His implants did not get wet and for the first time, he could swim, and go under water, and still hear wearing his processors the whole time with only a slight compromise in sound quality. The echo from the swimming area was a challenge anyway but if I took him down to the other end of the pool, covered my mouth so he couldn't speech read, ask him questions....HE COULD ANSWER THEM!!

He had to be very gentle before he put the swim cap on ducking under the water very easily or the coils (magnets) wouldn't hold. He tried the headband the other kids were wearing and it still wasn't enough but a swim cap held everything on great! The best part? He loved it. He smiled and said he liked being able to hear while he was in the pool. I watched him splash and make noises with some of the swim toys just to hear them. That was pretty awesome!

The only negatives I could see: I would prefer a brighter color (not clear) because we go to lakes a lot, should one come off, I'd like to see where it is. Also, the bottom of the product needs to be less "stiff". It rubbed into his neck and was uncomfortable. It didn't appear to be a problem with everyone depending on the child but more than one person had this issue. I like the fact that they will be affordable but we would probably use like 10 a day during summer with both kids and both ears so it would be nice if you didn't have to rip the bag open to get the processors back out and reuse them all day and just throw them away at the end of the day.

My friend Lisa was there also and she did her best to "drill" Cochlear for inside information on the N6's or the next processors due out in Fall from Cochlear. We are holding off to upgrade Brooklyn until the new ones come out so we are hoping they are as awesome as they plan. Sounded to us like they will be better for the kids in classrooms and possibly come with a lapel mic for teachers to use in place of FM systems since the new chip would make things easier for the kids changing environments. We shall see and our hopes are high.

I am thankful they are deaf

If you had asked me eleven years ago if I was glad my first born lived in silence, I would have said no. The experts told me he would learn to speak though it would be limited and at a much slower pace, and that I needed to narrate everything I do. When I woke in the mornings we put his prosthetic "ears" on knowing he would only hear certain parts of my words but we were to spend our day talking...about everything. If I walked to the kitchen I sang, "walk, walk, walk," with every single step in hopes that one day, he would learn that everything, even motions, had names, sounds, labels. By the end of the day, I rarely even answered the phone and had to force myself to speak to a tired husband when he came home from work, because my words had been given to my child.

There were days I thought would never end and when he finally got his cochlear implant, we had to start over again. Sister came along, and we were blessed to start it once more for her so words became part of our life. I learned to describe feelings and emotions, we stopped at every tree, we smelled every flower, we listened to every bird. Eleven years have passed now and I can honestly say that I'm thankful my children are deaf.

My busy world slowed down for years as they began to grow and learn. Each day, I'd step outside my door and wonder if there was anything else left that I could give my children and something new would appear. Their little face would light up with excitement and tears would run down my cheeks as The Blessings poured in day after day.

I had no idea that The Lord was crafting me all this time. HE was teaching me how to see HIM, how to feel HIM, and how to teach my kids about HIM. HE was teaching me to write with the same words I taught my children only they became more than just words over time. HE taught me to notice everything and then translate what my eyes and heart could see. Today, I am thankful HE lets me feel. If my world had not slowed down a few years ago to absorb HIM, I would not have the relationship with Christ that I do today. He took something very close and special to me, my children, and had them teach me how to hear HIM.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

Trunk or Treat

Our first Trunk or Treat at our church and the picture of my trunk decided to do a disappearing act on my phone! It wasn't that special but we had blue and white lights all in the trunk with snakes and candy everywhere. I did capture some other cute trunks though and Brooklyn being a rock star. Gage was too mature to dress up at the church event (lol) and he was too busy running 90 mph with his church buddies so I never got a shot of him.

I will tell you that even at close range, it is still to this day harder for Gage to "hear" in the dark which means he uses lip reading quite a bit. I don't mind I assure you in fact I encourage it with him. He's had way too many surgeries and although there was once a time he didn't rely on it at all, he needs the visual. Brooklyn is actually a better lip reader now than she used to be. She used to not be able to read speech at all, I could say watermelon and she's say shoe??? My mother actually pointed out that she was doing better (I didn't believe her at first) after Brook had spent the night with her, and sure enough...she is. However, during the day with her ears on, she doesn't need it at all.

He's 60

For years this same art lady has been at G's annual appointment at this clinic in Children's Hospital. He loves seeing her because that means that the four hours he spends in there, won't seem like four hours...and I can't imagine sitting in there that long without the art lady!

This is sort of a review by a team of people including a dentist, surgeon, nutritionist, social worker, etc....that's why it takes so long. So what did we find out?

He's four feet five inches tall and he's 60 pounds!!! Finally. We waited years for him to reach 20, then 40, and now at 11 1/2 years old, he's sixty pounds.

The plan is the same for his mouth. No orthodontics yet because he still has baby teeth in the back, keep up with the dental work (regular cleanings, etc). The dentist will sort of get us by with partials (later on) and whatever temporary magic solutions he has to keep him eating and chewing properly until he reaches age 17 (or there about). We need to let him grow as much as possible before breaking out the big guns...which may include jaw distraction (lengthening one side of his jaw to match the other side), braces, dental implants...a whole lot of work! But for now, we deal with what he's got and be thankful he does have some teeth.

He goes Tuesday for MAPping, which he needs desperately! He is struggling at home to hear/understand what we are saying so I know he has to be struggling at school. He's such a good speech reader though, he manages well...another reason to be thankful.

State Park

We took the kids today, to play in the lake. We decided not to camp overnight so we spent several hours, doing nothing...it was great. On the way home, Gage said (referring to a man with a beard about three feet long) "I saw that man looking at me in the eyes. I saw his mouth moving, I knew he was saying words...so I ignored him and went under really fast." No, we don't try to waterproof the cochlear implant processors. The kids like not hearing for the most part. It's just a bonus to them, lol.

Gage is trying to catch fish with a net and Brook is tugging around her doll on a boogie board

We have only two weeks left before school starts back. Brook got a postcard from her third grade teacher today and was so excited! The anti-static mats have been moved and are in place for my kids to use the computers in their classrooms.

Ears, ears, ears

Yes, I will schedule an ear tune up an hour and a half away for child #1 and be back to school before 1 p.m. for child #2's IEP. Crazy I know but it worked.

We got the boy all fixed up. He sat drawing, rolling his eyes, making snide remarks, etc etc, as his wonderful Audiologist MAPped BOTH ears, fixed the MIX for his FM so he can possibly hear his classmates better when the mic is in use, returned Brook's FM system to me in less than an hour and a half. So the four and a half hour trip put us back at school 10 minutes early for Brook's IEP. Woop! Got her all squared away and ready for 3rd grade next year.

We have determined that Gman is still going to need MAPping monthly. We tried to stretch it to five or six weeks and he's reading lips by then. He's ALWAYS needed monthly MAPping so this is nothing new. He just "special" as he likes to say, when trying to one-up his sister, lol.

Bullet Updates

Sorry, I'm not a lazy blogger (maybe I am) but we've just been really really really busy. I can't wait until Summa time and we have less on our plates. Everyone seems to stay booked up when I work a lot (and I am) so we all have to pitch in and play catch-up when we get home which leaves little computer time for me.

• Brook's IEP is scheduled for Thursday-I see no problems with that, nor am I nervous or anything. Just a meeting with the teacher(s) and I see them around a lot anyway so I'm not scared.
• Gage is scheduled for MAPping before her IEP meeting. He needs it. Even his teacher says he's reading lips to get by. I will also get his mix adjusted on his processors so that he can use that again. He needs to hear the teacher and other students and right now he only hears her.

• We have our PEEPS in the Park event on Saturday. Yay. I get to meet up with a lot of other families from AL with kids with hearing loss.
• Can you believe my baby boy is about to be 11 ?? Just a couple of more weeks!! Say it ain't so!

University of Montevallo

To some extent she's right. Implants are almost impossible to buy. They are expensive (covered by most insurances) and you need a prescription (so to speak). That was her point. She went on to write "Save your money if you can't hear!!!"

We went to our (almost) annual visit at the University of Montevallo Monday afternoon to talk to the up and coming Deaf Ed/Speech Therapy majors. The kids' former SLP is the instructor/teacher and we had a great visit.

Everyone was very respectful again this year about our choices. There's almost always some students in there that sign only and this year was no exception. We had a bonus this year and found out one of the students was wearing a cochlear implant too! Neither kid wanted to talk.......at first. Then after they warmed up, they did fine. In fact, Brook stood next to me and mocked me as I spoke...fabulous. She really liked one of the interpreters (she's often present at events we go to and I've ran into this lady for years). Brook even wrote on the board, "The lady in the green jacket likes me." Gage brought a vehicle he'd created and spoke on that subject for a little while.

I discussed our background, Goldenhar Syndrome, school, FM systems, parenting, language opportunities, AVT, ADHD, and so much more! We talked about home life and how they communicate without processors on, and the difference between bilateral and hearing with one implant.

We hope we shed some light on how "normal" yet insane at the same time, we can be. The kids got a gift card as a reward which I happily bought them prizes with on Black Friday. We look forward to hopefully returning next year. My mother even came this year with us and she kinda warmed up and spoke a little too.

Bullet Updates

• Had a great time at the PEEPs in the Park event Sunday. I love seeing all the families from Alabama who have children with hearing loss, reunite and share experiences and get "caught up".
• School is going fabulous for both kids. No disciplinary issues (so far) and they've even had to ride the bus a time or two and did fine.
• Gage is experiencing problems again. I noticed a sore on one of his large scars on the left side (the side that was previously infected with the staph a couple of years ago). We spent most of last year fighting symptoms and now they've started again. He's in so much pain today in fact, his teacher sent me a message saying he's removed BOTH ci's. I had already given him pain reliever and our doc is out of town. We plan on seeing him as soon as he returns to see what our plan of action is. As for now, his teacher can give him written assignments and he's comfortable with speech reading. As long as the pain is relieved by removing his ci's, we will make do for a few days.
• I have begun subbing again, and I love it. I'm actually enjoying the high school for a change. I haven't subbed at the elementary yet but this being my third year, all the kids are pretty used to me...and I know all their little tricks, lol.
• Cheerleading is going great and Brook loves doing the stunts most. We will perform our dance routine to "Dirty Bit" on Saturday so I'm really excited for the girls.

the zipper

I think the surprising thing for folks is how quickly they seem to 'return to normal' as far as bouncing back after surgery. Here it is in pictures...
Before surgery he had to wait like four hours before he was called in, to roll down the hall to his cotton candy flavored anesthesia...he was literally bouncing off the walls! No ADHD meds combined w/anxiety set this kid in overdrive!

He finally stopped his giggles and got a little irritable with lack of drink/food. He announced to everyone that passed his room, "I'm starving!!!" One lady walked in about to make sure he had all that he needed (to be nice) and he asked if she had food or could she get him some...when she said pleasantly said, "No, I can't offer you food, drink or a way out, sorry!" he decided to say in the nicest way possible, "Take a hike!" (I am not kidding) Luckily she thought it was funny and gave him a little stuffed animal and she did just that.

Here he is on his way back in...poor baby. He is full of all kinds of medication!! He tends to get very sick after his surgeries so we opted to use all medication possible PLUS acupuncture. Never would I thought we'd need that, it was just sugar/water but some people claim it helps and guess what...he got nauseous a couple of times but he never threw up! YAY! It's tough when your kids is bent over w/spit dripping from his mouth, throwing up while exclaiming in between "I'm so hungry". So luckily he avoided all of that this time.

Blood Disorder
For those on Facebook, I mentioned a blood disease. In our family, we have a strong presence of something called Angioedema. It doesn't affect me or my personal family (that we know of) since usually the kids will show signs/symptoms by Kindergarten. But to be on the safe side, we wanted to go ahead and check Gage. His surgeon offered to check while he prepped him for surgery after sedation so I said "Great". This way we'll know for sure. This can be a very dangerous, even fatal disease. Not for the blood disorder itself, but the symptoms! Males can usually take an oral/daily steroid to ward of these unpredictable swellings. Those affected can have almost any part of the body swell w/very little (if any) warning, this includes the throat and organs, hands, digestive tract, anything. My sister has it (bad) and sees a specialist in B'ham for her condition and is followed closely. Her daughter is about to have her blood tested for the condition so this is why I thought of having him checked. We'll find out when we see our doc Tues. for post op (he also gets activated that day).

As you can see, very early the next morning, he's playing, waiting on his turn to be released. The resident who changed out his bandage noted what a great speech reader he was. We got home about noon yesterday and he's still needing stronger meds than the average ibuprofen that he normally takes. I think now that he's older, more aware of pain, etc. he's requiring a little something stronger.

He's doing great though, I hope I can get him to relax at some point today, watch a little tv. I know he's got lots to do after we do a little school work...he's ready to work on his trucks he bought at the thrift store. I'll get to write a few articles (I hope) while he does that. I'm so glad this one is behind us and he'll be able to hear better soon. He has the N5 now. For those keeping score, this is his 4th device... he's had one on each side removed/replaced. He lost one to infection and one to improper functioning. He had one aborted attempt (his first ci surgery when he was almost 2) and one removal surgery to take out infected ci, so that brings his ci surgeries to 6. He said the worse part was smelling the oxygen mask after the cotton candy faded, the ringing in his ears and the stinging after meds wear off. During the day I have more control and can sort of prevent the pain but I set an alarm for the midnight meds and last night he was waiting on me in pain (just a couple of minutes). He's fast asleep now.

Brook is doing better w/her strep. She should wake fine, take her oral meds and off to school she goes. Again I apologize to the teachers who are calling on me to sub, luckily most of you love us and understand when I remind you why I can't for a couple of weeks. He is a trooper. He is amazing. He is a happy little boy!

This child probably feels like he has a zipper on each side of his head...

Keep in mind this is not your typical ci surgery...he had a keloid scar removed in front of his ear, it could possibly come back but maybe not...they went in the same scar(s) as before and it went quite well...his heart rate kept dropping a bit while he recovered in his room while sleeping so they gave him extra fluids and he was fine.

Today we shall begin school work (spread throughout the day, not to overwhelm) We may begin with a couple of worksheets (simple) and do something fun like make his environmental poster for keeping our county clean & healthy for Science.
(to be continued)

Quick update

So busy! I've been subbing most of the week at school...my Examiner.com writing has haulted due to site upgrades, the kids have been well and are getting used to school by now...so until I get time to do some real posting here, I'm leaving you with a couple of oldies, but goodies, lol
Gage when he was having all the ci removal, reimplant situation a year and a half ago...so he was totally reading lips!


and here Brook was 4, love this one!

Basket Case

I was already emotional when another parent came up to me and explained how upset her son was when he found out he wasn't in Gage's class because "what if they don't know how to take care of Gage?" he asked her! That's all I needed to go straight to down the hall, tears dropping from my cheeks, wetting my t-shirt and I was proud of every tear. The teachers know me, some read this blog, and they know it's hard. I was totally fine w/leaving Brooklyn, didn't even walk to her room. All the kids had to wait in the lunchroom while parents could go back if they needed to. When the bell rang, the kids were directed by staff where to go, without their parents. I met with Brook's teacher at orientation so I know B will be fine.

However, Gage is struggling. He didn't understand ANYTHING I said this morning without repeats and lip reading...he is not fine. I know his teacher is aware and will take care of him, but I'm sad he's lost. This is hard. I emailed his special ed teacher this morning and I hope we can monitor his needs a couple of days and decide what will work. We need for the Hearing Impaired teacher to drop of FM's and I am also alerting his audiologist to let her know how he is and see if she suggests we take the right one off for now. Last night I had him try listening without the right and he understood me better but he still likes being bilateral (habits are hard to break) and he wouldn't go without it this morning so hopefully we will find something that works. I know they will take good care of him (and her)....deep breath (basket case), I'm going to put on my swimsuit and relax on the patio for a while. (Maybe take a nerve pill, lol) I can't wait to pick up my babies.

This was outfit number one but she changed last minute into something cooler!

Our visit to the radio station

Today, Gage and I travelled into the big city to pre-record an interview to be aired in September during a radio-a-thon benefiting our Children's Hospital. We will go live on-air during that show as well but today was to give them something they can play over and over throughout the day during the event.  

Somehow when I explain to people, no matter where they are from, that I live in the middle of nowhere between Peanut and Cornbread, it's like they magically know where my house is. (haha) We explained Goldenhar Syndrome as best we could. We answered some common questions and then I was asked about what it felt like as a mom to take my child back to the hospital to remove his hearing device (which he obviously loved). I got choked up, almost cried heavily but quickly redeemed myself to get through the story. I went back in time, standing in the kitchen with bags in hand, asking my child if there was anything else he wanted to hear before we left. "Do you want to hear AC/DC, a toy truck, anything else Buddy before we walk out that door?" Reading my lips intently, he said, "No. It hurts too bad." He couldn't bare to put his processor on at all the pain was so bad. So I took his CD anyway and played it all the way to the hospital. With his eyes on me the whole trip, he watched me sing his favorite songs. He watched me tell him it would all be over soon and that the pain WILL go away! And he smiled, and I knew he may never hear another sound. I assured him that Dr. W would do his best in a few months to give him sound again, but if he could not, we would find a new normal for him, for all of us. But, writing it is easier than saying it, so hopefully she got at least some of it recorded, enough to give a decent story.

Gage did well, he was a little quiet (which is unusual) but he did fantastic. He did however assure this delightful DJ Ericka that I, in no way, sounded like AC/DC when I was finished talking(now that he can hear). I told her I was a much better rapper, and he asked me to rap! LOLOLOL...Well, I then explained I didn't have Salt N Pepa to back me up or I would......ahhh kids.

Looking forward to our visit in Sept when I hope he talks more and maybe explains what HE felt and especially about our nice surprise when it was all said and done of leaving with bilaterals when replacing his infected ci a few months later. Good visit, and we are looking forward to Sunday when he is getting inducted into The Wall of Inspiration...which he was nominated for! Big stuff coming from that but we want to save it all for Sunday night so you'll have to come back for that.

Real Estate

.....or homeless shelter as she called it...that's what we played this weekend...a lot! It was so pretty (70s) up until we wake w/it pouring SNOW this morning so a good chunk of our day was spent outdoors...just the way we like it! Brook wanted to play homeless shelter among other fun filled imaginary type games. This is a good one for all you AVT moms (auditory verbal therapy) or even you homeschoolers. She and I took turns selling each other plows, I mean "houses" so we would walk around each house (aka plow) and describe what was inside so each buyer could decide which one was just right for us. Can you believe she tried to sell me a house w/3 kitchens! I passed on it, I took the one she said had 2 computers, 1 kitchen, and a balcony (I'm shocked she knew the word balcony). I asked the price and she said 150,000.00 (which was a lucky guess on her part) so I took it. I in turn sold her the one that had an upstairs and came complete w/2 bedrooms and 2 baths.

Another game we played was Chef Brook. I gave her an old pan to keep in her restaurant (bricks w/a grate on top) and she "cooked" my food to order and even repeated it back, "here's your hamburger w/ketchup and lettuce and diet coke" (which was outrageously priced).

Our other house favorite is spelling out sentences. Brook is now able to do this as seen in the video of Gage at age six at the bottom of my blog (scroll down). Her sentences are a little less complex since she's just starting out w/sentences like, "I  l-o-v-e  y-o-u  v-e-r-y  m-u-c-h" and she'll answer me back...kinda works against you though if the adults in the house want to spell out secrets (or curse words, lol).

We have mapping for Gage on Thurs. along with his first orthodontist appt. We'll likely leave w/plans for future surgeries (like most first time appointments!) My mother noticed Gage speech reading as she spoke to him while she was attempting to remove my stitches this weekend. We were in her bathroom which has an automatic fan, aka background noise to a hearing impaired kid, very impressed w/mother's skills! I did inform her we already had an appt. scheduled with the audiologist. We had an extremely rough day yesterday when I let him go w/out his ADHD medication. And I say WE because it really affects EVERYONE and if your child has EXTREME ADHD you know what I mean. It's like his body is in overdrive (hyper) and his brain has no idea how to release the energy other that quick impulsive behaviors but on his medication, his brain has time to think of better alternatives, like making a new truck. His brain has time to think things through and he has more creative outlets! But yesterday he was literally about to jump out of his own skin! We were sure to take our meds today! School starts back tomorrow after our spring break, woohoo!

And finally, we are still scheduled to stop by Thurs and do a quick segment on the local morning news about this charity event which will benefit our HEAR Center where my kids receive audiology. Can you photoshop live tv? haha.

University of Montevallo

For those students at the University of Montevallo, here he is (no matter what he said about his little sister tonight) blowing her toes after he's just painted them (this pic is only a couple of months old)...

I'm very proud of little man, tonight he gave his first "presentation" to the up and coming Deaf ed and speech pathology majors at a college here in Alabama. And I BARELY GOT  A WORD IN EDGEWISE at certain times...his story telling has come a long way over the years, these days his stories never end sometimes (lol). You may have noticed me trying to 'butt in' on occasion and change the subject when he spoke for more than five minutes but there's good reason. I was nervous. You mamas can feel me on this one...when your kids get to telling stories about home events, home life and then out pops something so random and unexpected that your embarrassed to death...that was my fear. I've been so enthralled with a child's story before only to be blindsided with  a "you remember that mama, when you said you didn't like the neighbor's kids" or something like that (which may or may not have been true, depends on if the neighbor ever reads this, lol) But you get the idea, I was so afraid he'd get carried away on the subject and throw in a random, "like when I saw you in your bra" type thing so I was only trying to stop that before it happened! Luckily, he's maturing and no such story was exploited. Had a great visit with the college students, thank you for letting me come by and visit. I appreciate your questions and Gage is hoping to come back next year to speak with the next year's students! Topics Gage discussed, speech reading, school, self advocacy...topics I discussed, language opportunities, IEPs, audiology, siblings with cochlear implants/deafness, resources, parenting, history, Goldenhar syndrome, and much more I'm sure.
p.s. he loves the Legos thanks for offering a reward, he was expecting nothing though, he talks for free! lol, it's a hobby of his

Reading the CMAs

Gage was very excited the CMAs were coming on last night. His bed time is 8 so he got a full hour in before it was time to remove his processors and retire to his bed. His room does not have satellite access (yet) but I assured him they usually show it again as a rerun and it's usually on a Sat. night and I promised he could watch the entire show if we were to catch it on a non-school night! Gage is such a country music fan since his bilateral surgery a few months ago. I think he hears music so much better and can pick up on the individual instruments now that he can hear from both sides. Since country music tends to be more than guitars and drums utilizing fiddles, pianos, steel guitars, banjo, you name it, they use it, and sometimes all at once. A big change from his ACDC obsession! 

He went to bed and I continued watching the CMAs (they were better than the VMAs to me!) Then I hear a creak coming from behind me. It's Gage standing in the doorway with his blankets, not saying a word but the look on his face is asking if he can have just a few more minutes to watch. Knowing he can't hear a thing, he crawls in my lap and snuggles in to read the words Keith Urban is singing.  The closed captioning is a little delayed as I try to watch and read, realizing the words don't match his mouth because they are a sentence behind. So I tap my hand on his back to the beat letting Gage know the rhythm and so he can be assured this is indeed the song he knows already by heart, having watched the video a hundred times before.  We watched Sugarland, emotional as usual and Gage asked, "why does she look like she's about to cry?" and I explained that likely she was about to cry, I've seen her cry before singing, she's just got it like that *smile*.  On the second commercial break I assured him, he had to go to bed, and he agreed. He was tired, and reading the CMAs wasn't the same as listening to them. When he got up this morning, even though he was dragging at first, he had to watch a quick video before school on youtube...he chose Darius Rucker, a song he watched and heard last night on the CMAs...and it's alright by me.

.......um, I couldn't read in Kindergarten!

Just so we're all clear, I could not read in Kindergarten. I learned my alphabet, I learned rules of the classroom, I learned to play with other children, I learned to color...but I did not learn to read. Brook, is already reading, Gage did as well. This is three months into the school year and wow, I'm shocked. This is without her glasses too! We went to have them(her glasses) adjusted last night and they accidentally broke her specs so we are getting new ones on Wed afternoon. Just before I started filming she had sentences with words like school in them, to me this is astonishing...not to even mention the fact that the child is deaf! So this goes to show you how much they CAN and SHOULD be getting out of public school education!