end of year thoughts

Wow, another year has gone by. Don't we say that every year? We had a very busy 2010 with 3 surgeries, spending July in LA at the John Tracy Clinic, and selling and buying a home. We celebrated Lucas's 1st hearing birthday in early 2010, and he's had a variety of other great experiences throughout the year. He has made great progress, and I came to terms with one very big part of this big hearing journey... Lucas is going to be okay.

I know it sounds silly, because obviously I knew that before now, but I'm not sure I believed it with all of my heart and all of my soul. I do now. Maybe it's the transition from birth-3 to 3-5 with early intervention and the stellar results from his multi-faceted evaluation (more on that later). Maybe it's the anecdotal stories I hear about his success in mainstream preschool. Or maybe it's just his zest for life and his natural, creative way of interacting with everyone he meets. Whatever it is, it no longer feels probable, but rather definitive that he will be a successful, independent part of society. And I feel free emotionally.

In the early days of his diagnosis, it was all about the unknown. We didn't know whether his hearing aids would work... we naively waited for that magical moment. It never came. Then we started from scratch at 12 months. He'd lost over a year of hearing, including his time in the womb. We wondered if he would ever catch up. But, he did and he has, and now we have a glimpse of what his future path will look like. It's bright and hopeful.

It's certainly not time to sit back and assume that his development will progress as normal. We remain vigilant and proactive. There will be bumps in the road. But we have a sense of normalcy, even with the new access to sound that he has with his left ear, and the feeling that we're starting over again. Maybe it's just our sense of normal, but it feels great.

2010 was a year of progress. Lucas made the language and hearing progress that we always dreamed he would, and we made lots of progress in our goal to have his 2nd ear implanted. There were times when I thought we would never get there, ever. But we did, and I'm so glad it's behind us. We only have the future to look forward to, with all of the benefits of having two ears. It can only get better from here.

What will 2011 bring? Many new adventures, I'm certain. Hopefully Lucas will stay out of the operating room, and will fully embrace his new ear. I really hope that I'm able to report next December that he loves his 2nd ear, can't stand to be without it, and can discriminate speech like he can with the 1st one. We've got our work cut out for us, but I'm up for the challenge.

Wishing you much peace, joy and prosperity in 2011.

2009: a year of no regrets

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

As 2009 draws to a close today, I find it appropriate to reflect on the year, just like I did last year. In a nutshell, 2009 has been a year of no regrets. Although Lucas was implanted in 2008, all of his progress occurred in 2009. He was activated on January 9, and there has been no turning back.

I have NO REGRETS about deciding to have Lucas implanted. It has been a life altering experience for our family, and all of the hours of therapy this year were well worth it.

I have NO REGRETS about taking a leave of absence from my teaching job for 7 months. I believe that it affected Lucas's outcome immeasurably. I will always cherish those months, when I was able to experience so many fun Lucas hearing and language firsts.

I have NO REGRETS about following my heart and starting a support group for families of hearing impaired children in our area. I look forward to helping expand the group in 2010!

I have NO REGRETS about spending hours upon hours on the Internet researching hearing loss, working on the John Tracy Clinic correspondence course, reading blogs, and finding resources to help Lucas listen and speak.

I have NO REGRETS about meeting up with other CI families last summer in DC and Ohio and networking with other CI families around the globe on Facebook!

I have NO REGRETS about maintaining this blog, and I wish to continue it in 2010. Not only is it therapeutic, fun, and helpful to other families, but it is also a great record of Lucas's accomplishments and activities!

I'm looking forward to what 2010 will bring! I'm certain there will be many new adventures, including 3 weeks at the John Tracy Clinic in July! And who knows, maybe Lucas will get that baby he so badly wants too. (no hints, just starting to think about the possibility!)

Now I'm off to use the "blog to book" function from Blurb to create a book of all of my blog posts from 2009! Check it out! (thanks for pointing that out to me last year, Landry's Mommy!)

Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous New Year!