preparations

Happy Father's Day!

Lucas is a very lucky boy to have such a great father. He often excitedly remarks that if he eats all of his supper, he will grow big and strong like his daddy! When daddy takes his socks off, so does Lucas. He wants to emulate his father, and I'm so glad that he does.

On to what's on my my mind... surgery. He will be having his recurring branchial cleft cyst on his right ear removed. We will leave home at 4:15 tomorrow morning, for a 6 AM arrival time. I can't complain, because this is the way we like to do it. We miss all the traffic on the Schuykill Expressway heading towards Philadelphia, and it's much easier to keep food and drink away from him when it's so early. We're also usually home at a decent hour.

This is surgery number 6 for our little Lucas. I have a lot of trouble with that number. I think that's more surgeries than Nate and I and our families have had combined, let alone for a three year old in a three year period. I'm thankful for great medical care and a happy little boy, but part of me is very sad for all that he has been through. I hope that this is the last surgery for a long, long time. But I said that last time, and the time before last. Maybe I should use reverse psychology and say that I'm looking forward to his next surgery soon.

Kidding.

I have a couple of stories to share about preparing Lucas for surgery. It started when I told Lucas about his friend Jack's recent surgery. He proceeded to tell me that he needed to go see Dr. K (his surgeon) to have his ear "booboo" fixed. I was so floored, because I hadn't mentioned it to him yet at all. But I went with it, and agreed, telling him that it would happen soon.

Then, tonight before bed, I picked out some books pertaining to the hospital. He sat down on his bed and says to me, "Why did you pick out a book about the hospital? Because we're going to the hospital tomorrow?"... and proceeds to giggle. LOVE, LOVE! So intuitive.

After reading books, I asked him what he wanted to bring along to the hospital. He said "doctor bear" and then "Elmo, like I did last time." Last time?!? Last time was his 2nd CI surgery, 7 months ago, before he turned 3. I was kind of hoping he had forgotten about that, but not my kid. He has the craziest memory, in my opinion.

So, I will update tomorrow night, hopefully. I think he will do just fine, as he at least seems to be looking forward to seeing Dr. K (who has performed 4 of his 6 surgeries, by the way). He is certainly very aware of his surroundings, is quite inquisitive, and doesn't miss a single beat. So, it will be interesting. He's a trooper though, that's for sure.

Thanks for keeping our little Lucas in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow!

Happy Easter!

2011

2010

traditional portrait in front of Oma's tree...

Happy Easter!!!

a trick-or-treating kangaroo

Lucas went trick-or-treating for the first time Friday night. Yes, I said Friday night. For some reason, our county decided to trick-or-treat on Friday night because Halloween fell on a Sunday. We went with it! The last 2 years, we just dressed Lucas up and gave out candy. This year, we went door to door in our little cul-de-sac. It was perfect for a little guy. He seriously had a blast. He would scuttle up to the door, ring the doorbell (if he could), and say, "knock, knock, trick or treat." He got to go with his cousin, Ryan, too. They were quite the duo.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Easter Egg fun

We celebrated a beautiful Easter weekend with family and great weather. Lucas was a good age this year to do Easter egg hunts. He has finally officially learned all of his colors, so it was an opportune time to work with colorful, plastic Easter eggs. We spent time with both sides of the family on Easter. Lucas had Easter egg hunts with my nephew, Ryan, and Nate's niece, Lydia. Lucas and Lydia matched too... how cute (thanks Aunt Sarah)! We also got to celebrate Oma's birthday!

He finally got to enjoy the candy after all that hunting!

The video is of Lucas on an Easter egg hunt with Ryan. Lucas had 12 yellow eggs to find and Ryan had 12 blue eggs to find. They were filled with M&M's, and Lucas liked them a little too much. :)

Christmas Joy

This Christmas has been filled with lots of JOY. Christmastime has become a very emotional time for me, as it's associated with lots of memories from the past couple of years. Lucas made his unexpected worldly debut in 2007 and spent time in the NICU. I was discharged without him on Christmas Day that year. That was REALLY TOUGH, to say the least. During that week between Christmas and New Year's, we learned of his probable hearing loss (failed newborn hearing screen) and heart defect. That Christmas was JOYFUL and sorrowful at the same time.

Last Christmas was great, but stressful, with CI surgery scheduled for the day after Christmas! We were at CHOP by 6 AM on 12.26! We certainly enjoyed Christmas, but with an elevated level of anxiety. We didn't take Lucas to Christmas Eve service last year, one of the reasons being that he couldn't hear it anyway. But what JOY we had, knowing that he might soon hear. We never knew that he would hear so well though.

This year we've been able to sit back, relax and enjoy Christmas. Lucas is a great age, and he can HEAR this year. I couldn't help but be teary through Christmas Eve service, as he pointed to his ear as he heard the hand bells, the organ, and the hymns being sung. I might add that he was excited by the camel costume during the children's sermon too. I felt such JOY as I watched him light up with excitement as he took in the sights and the SOUNDS.

Every time I hear him say HO, HO, HO, or listen to him name the ornaments on the Christmas tree, I am reminded that he is my CHRISTMAS MIRACLE in so many ways.

JOY to the world!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! We enjoyed our day with family, Wii and the movie Elf (a Thanksgiving tradition for us). This day has been a great opportunity for us to reflect on what we have for which to be thankful. In addition to being thankful for our families, our health, and our beautiful son, we are forever thankful for the technological marvel that is the cochlear implant.

Because of the cochlear implant, Lucas now has choices. He now has the ability to CHOOSE how he'd like to communicate with the world. Because of his CI, he will be able to use the telephone, a cell phone, and even call 911 if there's an emergency. He will never have to rely upon an interpreter to communicate. He will have the opportunity to attend our neighborhood school.

In the same breath that I talk about how the cochlear implant affords Lucas the ability to fully function and even thrive in the hearing world, I must add that he still has the ability to choose manual communication for himself. We hope for him to fully learn ASL someday. The bottom line is that he has choices. And that is why we are most thankful. His hearing loss will not make decisions for him. He will make his own decisions.

Thank you to Graeme Clark, the inventor of the cochlear implant. Thank you to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for successfully implanting and coordinating the habilitation of his implant. Thank you to Jan, Dorlas, Linda and Jeana, the wonderful hearing loss professionals with whom we've had the pleasure to work and learn from over the past 2 years.

Last Thanksgiving, Lucas could not hear at all. This Thanksgiving, Lucas was only unable to hear during his nap. This Thanksgiving, Lucas puts 2 word phrases together and easily understands almost everything we say. His hearing goes from 0 to 95 with one magical magnetic attachment. I believe it's the most amazing technological marvel of the 20th century.

For what are you thankful?

then and now

10 months

22 months

Happy Halloween! Although we didn't take him trick-or-treating, our little monkey certainly enjoyed handing out candy last night! That is, until he figured out what he was giving out. Then he wanted to keep it for himself. HAHAHA!

We had fun decorating pumpkins with this really cool pumpkin decorating set. The little kids who came to the house were really enthralled by them. The cat is my favorite, of course.

Yesterday we had him dressed in his pumpkin sweatsuit too, complete with stem and everything. So cute!

Hope you had a spooky Halloween too!