Everly's hearing birthday!

Wow what a week it has been! Everly's Cochlear Implants were activated this week starting on Tuesday, April 21st. This will be considered her hearing birthday and a day we will never forget. Everly was such a trooper. I can't imagine how scary it must be to hear sound for the first time. When the implants were activated, she cried most of the time which is a normal and good reaction. It meant that the cochlear implants were working. We went back two additional times so the audiologist could continue to adjust the programming/mapping. It's more complicated than this, but essentially she turned up the implants each time. We needed to make sure Everly was comfortable, not in pain, and could tolerate the mapping. Everly had no tears the second and third day. It's amazing how she learned to tolerate her new sense so quickly. By the third day, she definitely reacted to the testing the audiologist did. It was amazing.

Although Everly is 10 months old, her ears are that of a newborn. Think about what you expect a newborn to hear. Not a lot. Newborns don't know their names; they don't know their mother's, father's or sibling's voices; they don't turn toward a sound; there's no meaning attached to any sound. Most newborns can sleep soundly in a noisy room. It's a little bit of a hard concept for me to comprehend. It seems as if Everly should know her name, should know my voice, but she has only reacted to a couple sounds thus far. Of course this will all come in time. We resume all of our therapy next week. I am looking forward to getting back to our routine, albeit a busy one.

Thank you to everyone for all of the positive thoughts throughout this period in our lives. We couldn't have done it without all the support we received. And a special shout-out to the grandparents, as they were with us every step of the way.

First reaction of her new sense...

1st activation day

 

All hooked up with her new equipment

 

It's been a long morning but she;s still happy

 

The grandmas singing to Everly

 

 

Everly's hearing birthday is a day will we never forget!

 

At home after activation playing with brother Brooks

 

Reading books is so different now!

 

2nd activation day with our audiologist, Jamie. No tears today!

 

Playing while testing my new magic ears.

 

3rd activation day. Trying the second device that goes behind the ear. She will eventually wear this one when she gets older.

 

More testing...

 

Lots of wires and equipment!

 

Finally we are finished...at least for now! With our audiologist, Jamie.

 

 

On the way home...we spent a lot of time in the car this week. 

 

My new head gear.  I think she looks like a cute little bug now!

 

Playing with Brooks and using her voice!

 

She reacted to hearing the piano today.

 

It was pretty amazing.

Successful Surgery

It's been one week since Everly's cochlear implant surgery. I'm not going to lie, it's been a long week. However, Everly is a stellar patient. The surgery went remarkably well and we did not have to stay a night in the hospital. We got to the hospital at 5 AM and we were home by 3 PM. She was in the OR for just over two hours. Amazing!! She had a bandage around her head for two days which Matt and I took off on Thursday. She has an incision about 2 inches long behind each ear. They are already healing so well.  I'm sure in a few short years we will not be able to see them at all. She also now has a bump on each side of her head where the implants lie. These bumps are fairly noticeable now but they will become less noticeable as she grows and gets more hair. Her recovery has been remarkable to watch. I'm so impressed with how resilient little babies and kids are. She is healing so fast.

With the surgery behind us, Matt and I can only think about her activation day. We will start the process on April 21st. That's just right around the corner. And Everly will hear sound for the first time! We will make sure to videotape her reaction so we can share with all.

As always, thanks for following along. And thank you for everybody's positive thoughts and prayers over the last week.

Much love,
Elizabeth

Waiting to see the doctor

About 10 mins after the "happy juice" ... She was very relaxed

Rolled off to surgery

 Waiting...the hardest part!

Waking up in recovery

Safe with daddy by her side

Oh man, what just happened!

Heading home

Swollen face

Trying a little food

Sleeping on mama

Getting stronger!

Getting some fresh air

Playing a little here and there

No more bandage!

More playtime

Smiley Evvie is back!

Better every day!