Activation is scheduled

Activation Day will be November 1. It seems so far away! But, time does fly these days so I am sure it will be here before we know it.

Toes is doing great. She is pretty much back to normal, other than being bored without her little friends from daycare. I am sure that come Monday she will be very excited to go back to school.

We took off her bandages on Wednesday. She looked at the pile of gauze afterward and said "Owie, all gone!" ( it still sounds a lot like "al gore"). She was very relieved! I am just impressed we made it that long without her ripping it off.

Her incision looks exactly like the first. Right in the crease behind her ear. They didn't even shave any hair. It just amazes me. She has been totally ignoring the steri-strips. So we haven't had to worry about her pulling them off.

I haven't felt around to see how well the magnet site aligns with the right side site. But, I imagine that it is right on the money.

*******************************************************************************

Using the Phone

Toes has started figuring out what a telephone does. She loves to "Call Daddy" when he is at work or out of town.

We use the speaker phone option, since her processor does not sit on her ear. Sometimes she will take the phone and put it to her ear the way she sees Mom and Dad do it. But with the speaker on, it doesn't really matter that it is nowhere near her processor.

Normally, it is tough to get much out of her once we do make the call, she usually waves at the phone or just smiles. But it is so fun to have her start to make that connection.

This morning, since I am back at work, she asked Daddy to call Mommy. So today I got my first Toes Phone Call. :D

Day Two - Bilateral

Toes had a good day. Not a great day, but a good day. I was able to tell that she still has a pretty good headache. Every now and then she would point at the big ball of gauze on the side of her head and say "Owie!"

I went ahead and gave her the prescribed pain meds when I was able to. I think by tomorrow we'll be able to switch to plain Tylenol.

I think she was also bored at home. She is such an active kid! One of Grandmas to Toes came to visit and brought her a real fun puzzle that has sound effects. It kept her entertained for a little while, but it is apparent she is getting cabin fever.


The doc told us that the incision is the same length as her first, and that he was able to put the second implant in a spot that is perfectly symmetrical to her right implant. This was good news. It seems like such a minor concern, but I'd hate if her coils were on radically different areas on each side.

He also told us we could take the bandages off tonight, but we went ahead and left them on. They don't seem to be bothering her and this way we don't have to worry about her pulling at the Steri Strips that cover her incision. I will probably take them off in the morning, because I think tomorrow I will have to get her out and about.


Here is a picture from her nap today in her big girl bed. What a difference from the picture from Day Two of her last surgery, where I went into her room to find a crib full of gauze!

Sequential Bilateral Surgery

Success!

Toes did amazingly well today. She was a total trooper.

Surgery seemed to take longer than the first. I actually had an anxious 1/2 hour where all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind while we were waiting for word. But all went well!

The audiologist came out to tell us that the "Impedences" (don't ask me to explain what this means) tested really well - and even at "excellent" in some ranges. She said the doctor was bragging about the results to the other doctors in the room.

Erin's auditory nerve is 100% intact. We were so right in having this done now before her nerve started to atrophy. She will get full use out of this implant.

I have to admit that overall this surgery was much more difficult than the first. For the last surgery, we were on our way home within an hour or two after we got to see her in post-op. This time, it was closer to 4 hours.


Toes woke up immediately when we got into post-op. I scooped her right up and settled into a rocking chair with her. And there I sat for 3 1/2 hours. She would wake for very brief periods, shake her head and say "No!" to offers of juice, and would dose back off.


At one point, she pointed to her Crocs and said "Shoes!". We thought it was a sign she was ready to go. But, she slept for another 1/2 hour after that.

We finally had to force the issue and laid her down to change her diaper. That woke her up enough to get some juice in her and finally a clear discharge note from the nursing staff.


When we got home, all Toes wanted to do was cuddle on the couch and watch Noggin. I think she absorbed more TV this afternoon than she cumulatively has in her entire life. . Any sudden movement elicited cries of annoyance in the Toes. It is obvious she is being hit with a monstrous headache. We both dozed in and out


Dinner was a banana, apple sauce and some mac n cheese.

We had some more play time and Toes even sat on the potty at one point. This ended with her running out into the living room sans diaper. Typical Toes.

The whole running thing proved a bit much and she was quickly ready for bed afterward.

She is still blissfully sleeping.

We got Toes's Back Up Bear. Thank goodness! Now we can swap them out and launder the little t-shirts she so loves to cling to.

We are so thrilled to have the surgery over with. And we both feel so fortunate for this gift of Our Toes. She was an angel today.

How did we get so lucky?

More tomorrow. I am wiped out tonight. :p

It is going to be a big week!

Toes chose last night as the perfect time to escape from her crib.

It was unintentional. She was standing in her crib and bent over the side laughing. She managed to do a gymnastic move and somersaulted out, landing solidly, yet safely, on her bottom. She was under the care of one of her grandmothers, who was understandably quite shaken up. But Toes was fine. Toddlers are invincible that way. ;)

My hope was that this would be a one time thing and I'd still be able to stick with my plan to keep her in the crib until highschool. But she made an attempt to duplicate the event this morning so it became apparent that it was time for the toddler bed.

So, we got it all set up today and loaded it up with her stuffed animals and a brand new pillow.

Amazingly, she went down like a dream tonight and has been sleeping soundly since. I hope she is a fast learner and this is not a First Night Fluke. But, it seems like it may be perfect timing to make this transition, since we'll be home all week.

***************************************************************************

While Dad to Toes was putting together Toes's toddler bed, I ran the vacuum in her room. This is something I normally do while she is napping. (Ah, the wonder of being able to run a vacuum within inches of your napping child and not wake her :)

She was rather annoyed to see this contraption in her room and even more annoyed to hear it start up.

I quickly vacuumed, then turned to see how she was holding up.

I found her standing there, with her hand on her processor, blocking the microphones.

The CI User's equivalent of plugging her ears! How amazing is that????

***************************************************************************

We are all set for tomorrow. I am honestly trying not to think too much about it. For some reason it is harder this time, since she is older and will be so much more aware of everything.

But, that also gives me comfort. Because waiting another year or more would only intensify that awareness.

This is the right time to do this. And Toes is going to LOVE bilateral hearing.

I'll post an update tomorrow when we get home.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes!