Yesterday was a day full of appointments for Briggs at Boys Town and everything went really well. We started out the day with the 2 implant appointments. The first was the "device orientation" appointment. We were shown the three different styles and brands of implants and have to decide which one we would like to go with. It sounds like a simple process but is actually VERY difficult. These implants will be with him for the rest of his life so we're trying to figure out what is the best for him and will fit all his needs throughout his life. They all serve the same purpose but are very different styles. Each implant has something unique and we wish we could combine them all to create the perfect implant. So I think I'm going to get in touch with other families to see what experience they've had, talk with his speech pathologist (she works with cochlear implant kids) to get her thoughts and we'll continue to do research before we make a decision. We don't have to make a decision until he's 7 or 8 months old (which is only 3 or 4 months away).
After that appointment we had the "expectations discussion". It was a little nerve racking because you're having a discussion/interview with a counselor about how we're doing with the news of his hearing loss, realistic expectations of what it will be like after his implants, what our expectations are for Briggs, what we're currently doing for him (having him wear his hearing aids every day and working with LPS are 2 examples). All of these factors are taken into consideration before they approve him as a candidate for the surgery. This we didn't know but the counselor told us that next Wednesday the implant team will all sit down and discuss Briggs case and our appointments and decide whether Briggs is a candidate for the implants. So later next week we will get a call from them letting us know what their decision is. Please pray they will approve him for the implants!
Then we met with Dr. Lusk and he talked with us about our appointments with the implant team and checked his ears for fluid. There was no fluid which is great! In case you forgot from previous posts... Dr. Lusk does all the pediatric implants at Boys Town so he will be doing his surgery. The surgery date is dependent upon insurance approval. He said most times insurance will not approve the surgery until they are a year old (I think for anesthesia purposes - there is less risk to put them under once they turn 1). However if the insurance company approves the surgery at 10 months old then Briggs will have the surgery at 10 months. We most likely will have to put him through 2 surgeries. His first implant will be between 10 months and 1 year of age and the second one will be approximately 3 weeks later. The reason is it's to risky to keeps babies under anesthesia for the length of time it would take to do both at the same time. We took the genetic results for Briggs and Dr. Lusk took a look at it and his comment was... "ahh connexin 26 - he's going to do fantastic with these implants". He actually said that many times in the appointment. That was very encouraging news for us! We met a family one of the first times we were at Boys Town before we knew the genetic results and the little girl we met who was also born with profound hearing loss and has connexin 26 (same exact situation as Briggs) is now 6 years old and has done phenomenal with the implants! You'd never know she was born deaf. Truly amazing!! Dr. Lusk also said that 1 year of age to 1 1/2 is the magic number for the success of the implants. It's because babies learn to hear sound naturally once they're implanted and they don't miss out on very much time of hearing sound. Of course older kids and adults can do just as well too. Alot of factors are dependent on how well a person does with an implant.
Nick and I are so grateful for the newborn hearing screening and feel blessed that we have come so far in only a few months! They all were amazed at how visual Briggs is. He does not skip a beat! Every time we went into a new room he checked everything out and kept his eyes on the audiologist, doctor and counselor and also gave LOT'S of his handsome smiles! It was a great day of appointments and we are 3 steps closer to giving Briggs a hearing world!!
What's to come... we're waiting for the team to meet and approve Briggs for the implants. As soon as I get that call I'll post an update. September 8th we have his 4 month check up. September 9th we have his LPS teaching session and Sept. 10th we have the genetics clinic back at Boys Town. Until next time...
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