Kirstie and her friend Sarah had their soccer party tonight. They didn't win a game this season, but they had a lot of fun. She and Sarah get along great together.
8 years ago
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
1st Appointment at NYU Cochlear Implant Center
Today Maria woke up around 8:00 after a very restless night of sleep. We tried to get her to eat breakfast at the hotel, but she was not interested. She was tired and had a tummy ache. We tried to wait it out at the hotel, but she just became more and more grumpy. We decided to leave the hotel and take the bus to the city a little early. She was definitely happy to be outside. She enjoyed the bus ride. It reminded us of our time in China.
We made it into the city around 11:45am and started walking. It was a beautiful day and we had until 2 for Maria's appointment. It took about 45 minutes to walk approximately 12 blocks. We carried Maria on and off. She enjoyed walking, but would suddenly fall down like a limp rag doll. We carried her while she just hung, which made a 20 pound little girl feel much much heavier. Then when she was ready she would get down and run down the sidewalk once again.
We made it to a Subway around 12:30. Again Maria had no desire to eat. She played and made a mess with her food instead. After Subway we checked in at the medical center and Maria played with the toys in the waiting room.
At 2:15pm we met with the audiologist and discussed the future appointments and what to expect. Then the audiologist took Maria for sound field hearing testing with hearing aids and without. We tried to train her to the test---in other words to look at a tv when she heard noise. We also used a bone conduction vibrator for her to feel the vibrations. She appeared to maybe respond to 2 sounds.
We discussed that a cochlear implant would not be as effective if she does not respond to more sounds. On the other hand it seems to be the best and only option we have at this point. She has 3 more audiological exams, so hopefully she'll respond better next week. The only thing that would completely stop the process is if her CT Scans show an abnormality of her auditory nerve or any other abnormality of the ear in which a cochlear implant will definitely not work.
This week we are looking at 3 cochlear implant companies in order to choose the manufacturer that we would like to use.
After her appointment we walked a little faster, maybe 35-40 minutes to the bus stop. We took the bus to our car and started our 5 hour drive home. The trip home was longer as the traffic out of Jersey was worse than when we drove in.
We made it home at 9:30pm and were able to say goodnight to Macella and Kirstie, so that was nice.
Next week we leave after work on Tuesday night, so we'll be getting into NJ around 10pm. Please pray for the 4 appointments we have next week.
We made it into the city around 11:45am and started walking. It was a beautiful day and we had until 2 for Maria's appointment. It took about 45 minutes to walk approximately 12 blocks. We carried Maria on and off. She enjoyed walking, but would suddenly fall down like a limp rag doll. We carried her while she just hung, which made a 20 pound little girl feel much much heavier. Then when she was ready she would get down and run down the sidewalk once again.
We made it to a Subway around 12:30. Again Maria had no desire to eat. She played and made a mess with her food instead. After Subway we checked in at the medical center and Maria played with the toys in the waiting room.
At 2:15pm we met with the audiologist and discussed the future appointments and what to expect. Then the audiologist took Maria for sound field hearing testing with hearing aids and without. We tried to train her to the test---in other words to look at a tv when she heard noise. We also used a bone conduction vibrator for her to feel the vibrations. She appeared to maybe respond to 2 sounds.
We discussed that a cochlear implant would not be as effective if she does not respond to more sounds. On the other hand it seems to be the best and only option we have at this point. She has 3 more audiological exams, so hopefully she'll respond better next week. The only thing that would completely stop the process is if her CT Scans show an abnormality of her auditory nerve or any other abnormality of the ear in which a cochlear implant will definitely not work.
This week we are looking at 3 cochlear implant companies in order to choose the manufacturer that we would like to use.
After her appointment we walked a little faster, maybe 35-40 minutes to the bus stop. We took the bus to our car and started our 5 hour drive home. The trip home was longer as the traffic out of Jersey was worse than when we drove in.
We made it home at 9:30pm and were able to say goodnight to Macella and Kirstie, so that was nice.
Next week we leave after work on Tuesday night, so we'll be getting into NJ around 10pm. Please pray for the 4 appointments we have next week.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Maria loves the wind and learns to use a straw in NJ
We left this morning for New Jersey. We wanted to be sure that we made it before running into evening traffic. We've figured out how to get into the city tomorrow, so hopefully it will go as planned!
Maria traveled the four hours without incident. Once we arrived to our hotel, the wind was tremendous. She loved it! After check-in we decided to walk to a mall in the tremendous wind. I for one complained that I was freezing and was not enjoying the street crossings. All the while Maria took it all in as extreme fun. She giggled and smiled and tried to catch the wind in her face.
After walking for awhile we ended up at a TJ Maxx-----a very crowded and overheated TJ Maxx. We just walked around to warm up and headed back out into the wind. This was all a great adventure in Maria's eyes.
We walked to the only restaurant in sight, the Olive Garden and waited to be seated. We didn't bring Maria's sippy cup and I've been wanting to teach her to use a straw anyway, so why not start at the Olive Garden?! Maria thought it was quite hilarious to get milk dropped in her mouth. She didn't quite get the concept of sucking from the straw, so I put my finger on the top to capture the milk inside. Apparently Gary thought my teaching was going much too slow, so he put the straw in her mouth and waited. She was surprised at her first sip and then was so excited. She kept signing drink and didn't eat anything, but she loved drinking from a straw!
We're thankful that we made it safely and the weather was beautiful for the entire trip. We're thankful that Macella and Kirstie had a good time with their friends and grandma today. Now we're attempting to get Maria to sleep---we shall see how that goes!
Please pray that we get to our appointment without incident tomorrow and that we ask the right questions for Maria. We are so hoping that she will be a candidate for a cochlear implant.
Enjoy some pictures of our day-----
Maria traveled the four hours without incident. Once we arrived to our hotel, the wind was tremendous. She loved it! After check-in we decided to walk to a mall in the tremendous wind. I for one complained that I was freezing and was not enjoying the street crossings. All the while Maria took it all in as extreme fun. She giggled and smiled and tried to catch the wind in her face.
After walking for awhile we ended up at a TJ Maxx-----a very crowded and overheated TJ Maxx. We just walked around to warm up and headed back out into the wind. This was all a great adventure in Maria's eyes.
We walked to the only restaurant in sight, the Olive Garden and waited to be seated. We didn't bring Maria's sippy cup and I've been wanting to teach her to use a straw anyway, so why not start at the Olive Garden?! Maria thought it was quite hilarious to get milk dropped in her mouth. She didn't quite get the concept of sucking from the straw, so I put my finger on the top to capture the milk inside. Apparently Gary thought my teaching was going much too slow, so he put the straw in her mouth and waited. She was surprised at her first sip and then was so excited. She kept signing drink and didn't eat anything, but she loved drinking from a straw!
We're thankful that we made it safely and the weather was beautiful for the entire trip. We're thankful that Macella and Kirstie had a good time with their friends and grandma today. Now we're attempting to get Maria to sleep---we shall see how that goes!
Please pray that we get to our appointment without incident tomorrow and that we ask the right questions for Maria. We are so hoping that she will be a candidate for a cochlear implant.
Enjoy some pictures of our day-----
Friday, October 16, 2009
Maria's 1st CT Scan
They say a picture says 1000 words and since I have no picture of today's CT Scan you're going to get the 1000 words! The camera was ready for pictures the last time we checked, but when I went to use it the batteries were dead. Now for the story:
Maria needed a CT Scan of her head, so the pediatrician quickly made us an appointment for this afternoon at 3pm. I had to go by myself because Gary is already taking off so much time for Maria. I was a little nervous because I knew she had to be completely still and obviously I would not be able to explain that to her.
We walked into the hospital went to reception and they immediately sent us to x-ray. The room was full of people who were waiting. We were there less than 2 minutes and Maria's name was called. We went to a back room to fill out paperwork and ran into our friend Roy. He's a radiology student at the hospital. Not 5 minutes later we were taken to the CT room. Maria was happy and making noise the whole time.
The technician asked my name and explained that Maria would have to be tied down and that I would have to hold her head by the chin. She needed to be as still as possible. I thought "finally, a good reason to have all those sensory issues. She loves to be squeezed!" I put her on the table and they started wrapping her up with velcro and blankets. After we had her arms tied down she looked up at the technician and gave him a huge grin. She was still holding her head up a little and seemed a little bit nervous about laying it down, but I gently pushed her head down and she appeared excited. They added extra padding around her ears to hold her head in place. She was all smiles!! Then they gave me an x-ray vest and said that the 1st few scans it would be ok if she moved a little, but the last ones I would have to make sure that her head did not move. As soon as the table moved into the "tunnel" Maria giggled. She seemed so amazed. The table moved in and out and she watched the lights. When it came time for me to hold her chin I wasn't sure if all this "fun" she was having would disappear, but once again she amazed me with a giggle. She was finished within minutes and we untied her from the table.
I put Maria's coat on and was trying to put mine on, but Maria kept trying to get back to the table. I think she thought she was at an amusement park! The technician picked her up, so I could put my coat on. Maria just loved it.
When we got home she kept babbling and babbling. She was so excited to "tell" grandma all about her CT Scan adventure! I say getting a CT Scan machine for the house might be a good investment if it brings this much joy to our sweet little Maria:)
I started out nervous and prayed that I would be able to handle carrying my purse, the diaper bag, and our winter coats (we have snow). I was concerned about Maria not being cooperative and just prayed that we would make it through. The Lord blessed me and Maria with the best possible CT Scan ever. He gave me more than I ever asked or imagined. Isn't that just like our great big God! What a great beginning to Maria's cochlear implant appointments that start next week.
Maria needed a CT Scan of her head, so the pediatrician quickly made us an appointment for this afternoon at 3pm. I had to go by myself because Gary is already taking off so much time for Maria. I was a little nervous because I knew she had to be completely still and obviously I would not be able to explain that to her.
We walked into the hospital went to reception and they immediately sent us to x-ray. The room was full of people who were waiting. We were there less than 2 minutes and Maria's name was called. We went to a back room to fill out paperwork and ran into our friend Roy. He's a radiology student at the hospital. Not 5 minutes later we were taken to the CT room. Maria was happy and making noise the whole time.
The technician asked my name and explained that Maria would have to be tied down and that I would have to hold her head by the chin. She needed to be as still as possible. I thought "finally, a good reason to have all those sensory issues. She loves to be squeezed!" I put her on the table and they started wrapping her up with velcro and blankets. After we had her arms tied down she looked up at the technician and gave him a huge grin. She was still holding her head up a little and seemed a little bit nervous about laying it down, but I gently pushed her head down and she appeared excited. They added extra padding around her ears to hold her head in place. She was all smiles!! Then they gave me an x-ray vest and said that the 1st few scans it would be ok if she moved a little, but the last ones I would have to make sure that her head did not move. As soon as the table moved into the "tunnel" Maria giggled. She seemed so amazed. The table moved in and out and she watched the lights. When it came time for me to hold her chin I wasn't sure if all this "fun" she was having would disappear, but once again she amazed me with a giggle. She was finished within minutes and we untied her from the table.
I put Maria's coat on and was trying to put mine on, but Maria kept trying to get back to the table. I think she thought she was at an amusement park! The technician picked her up, so I could put my coat on. Maria just loved it.
When we got home she kept babbling and babbling. She was so excited to "tell" grandma all about her CT Scan adventure! I say getting a CT Scan machine for the house might be a good investment if it brings this much joy to our sweet little Maria:)
I started out nervous and prayed that I would be able to handle carrying my purse, the diaper bag, and our winter coats (we have snow). I was concerned about Maria not being cooperative and just prayed that we would make it through. The Lord blessed me and Maria with the best possible CT Scan ever. He gave me more than I ever asked or imagined. Isn't that just like our great big God! What a great beginning to Maria's cochlear implant appointments that start next week.
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