Activation Day!
Well, it went beautifully! We got to the Cochlear Implant Clinic around 9:00 and they got started right away. Kelah Miller is our audiologist and she is amazing. She is also deaf and functions beautifully with her implant. She has been so helpful throughout this whole process.
Here is what our appointment consisted of today:
1.) She played a series of beeps for Max, each set was in a different pitch. She started the beeps very loud and then worked down to the lowest volume that Max could hear.
Initially, Max didn't respond much. After a few beeps he got a very thoughtful look on his face, like he was trying to figure out what that sensation was. After a little bit he said he felt something. He was instructed to raise his hand if he heard or felt anything. Soon he was raising that hand over and over! It was so exciting!
2.) Using the beeps at the lowest possible volume, she created a program for his processor. His processor holds 4 programs. That first was P1. From there she made
P2, P3 and P4. P2 was louder than P1 and P3 was louder than P2. She made P4 very quiet, though, in case he was feeling overwhelmed. Well, not much overwhelms Max and we are already at P3 (the loudest) at the loudest possible volume--and he is asking for MORE!
3.) When the programming was complete it was time to hear "real" sounds. He put on the processor and she turned it on. The first real sounds he heard were our voices. Of course, they don't really sound like our voices just yet--everything sounds sort of jumbly. But he heard us! Kelah gave him a box of instruments to play with. He hit sticks together, rang jingle bells and shook maracas. Each time he heard the noise just a split second after it began. It takes his brain just a little bit to process what's happening.
All in all we are THRILLED with how today went. We walked outside and he heard cars and trucks. He is dying to hear a fire truck or police siren. Our next door neighbor is a police officer. I think I'll go over this afternoon and ask if he would turn on his siren for Max. That would send Max over the moon!
Of course, I have all of this on video. I will spare you the 20+ minutes of footage and edit it to include only the good parts. And since I'm no computer genius it may be this evening before I get it up. But I know lots of you have been praying for us and wondering what our day has been like! I wanted to give a quick report before I did the videos.
Thank you ALL for your love and your prayers. We are so blessed to have you walking through this with us! We are so grateful.
One more thing. If you are just joining us in the process and want to learn more about Max's cochlear implant you can read about it in several previous posts. Click on the links of your choice to read more about:
Making the decision to get an implant
Our first appointment
Surgery Day, part 1
Surgery Day, part 2
Surgery Day, part 3
Surgery Day, part 4
Max's scar and surgery details
All of these will tell you how we got to this point.
I'll be posting videos as soon as I get them up and running!
Here is what our appointment consisted of today:
1.) She played a series of beeps for Max, each set was in a different pitch. She started the beeps very loud and then worked down to the lowest volume that Max could hear.
Initially, Max didn't respond much. After a few beeps he got a very thoughtful look on his face, like he was trying to figure out what that sensation was. After a little bit he said he felt something. He was instructed to raise his hand if he heard or felt anything. Soon he was raising that hand over and over! It was so exciting!
2.) Using the beeps at the lowest possible volume, she created a program for his processor. His processor holds 4 programs. That first was P1. From there she made
P2, P3 and P4. P2 was louder than P1 and P3 was louder than P2. She made P4 very quiet, though, in case he was feeling overwhelmed. Well, not much overwhelms Max and we are already at P3 (the loudest) at the loudest possible volume--and he is asking for MORE!
3.) When the programming was complete it was time to hear "real" sounds. He put on the processor and she turned it on. The first real sounds he heard were our voices. Of course, they don't really sound like our voices just yet--everything sounds sort of jumbly. But he heard us! Kelah gave him a box of instruments to play with. He hit sticks together, rang jingle bells and shook maracas. Each time he heard the noise just a split second after it began. It takes his brain just a little bit to process what's happening.
All in all we are THRILLED with how today went. We walked outside and he heard cars and trucks. He is dying to hear a fire truck or police siren. Our next door neighbor is a police officer. I think I'll go over this afternoon and ask if he would turn on his siren for Max. That would send Max over the moon!
Of course, I have all of this on video. I will spare you the 20+ minutes of footage and edit it to include only the good parts. And since I'm no computer genius it may be this evening before I get it up. But I know lots of you have been praying for us and wondering what our day has been like! I wanted to give a quick report before I did the videos.
Thank you ALL for your love and your prayers. We are so blessed to have you walking through this with us! We are so grateful.
One more thing. If you are just joining us in the process and want to learn more about Max's cochlear implant you can read about it in several previous posts. Click on the links of your choice to read more about:
Making the decision to get an implant
Our first appointment
Surgery Day, part 1
Surgery Day, part 2
Surgery Day, part 3
Surgery Day, part 4
Max's scar and surgery details
All of these will tell you how we got to this point.
I'll be posting videos as soon as I get them up and running!
posted by Erin at 2:35 PM
8 Comments:
Praise God! I can't wait to see the video!!! Love you all dearly!
so amazing! praise the Lord!
cannot wait to see that video! love that little guy and his precious raising of the arm every time he hears something:)
i should not let max hear my voice until he is well used to hearing. my high school spanish teacher said my voice got into her ear and struck the wrong nerve. she said it was so high pitched and harsh. i would hate for that to happen to max and not want to hear anymore. ;)
i am so excited for you guys and him!!! i know it will be a very enduring time though.
OHHHHHH YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly WAIT to see the videos! That is so WONDERFUL! YAY MAX!!! Hugs, Angel
How exciting! Can't wait to see the video!
I am so happy for all you! I can't imagine all the different sensations he is experiencing. Enjoy all the "new sounds"!
erin this made me want to cry, its so EXCITING!!!! i prayed for yall today! i love yall... give that max a hug! ill call soon! xoxo
amy parker
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