Hearing aids

Maria got her hearing aids today (click on the picture for a larger version).



The blue string isn't part of it. It just ties the hearing aids to her clothes so that when they inevitably fall out we don't lose them. Her ears are so small they won't stay on very well so at the audiologist's recommendation Cathy is using toupee tape to keep them on.

There wasn't any dramatic change when they turned them on but I didn't really expect there to be. They won't do a new hearing test for a couple of weeks, I assume to let her brain get used to the new inputs. This will be a simple hearing test, not like the big one back in January. That one required them to knock her out and it tested both ear function and brain stem response.

The audiologist and the hearing therapist have both been terribly skeptical of Cathy's and my assertion that Maria is hearing dramatically better than before. I guess they get a lot of people in heavy denial, but I'm fascinated how these people who see her for five minutes every three months think they know her better than we do. So Cathy's going to try getting another "big" test scheduled to prove to these people that she can hear better. It doesn't mean "problem solved" but at least it shows improvement and might change her therapy program.

Speaking of therapy, the milk thing continues to be frustrating. The speech therapist won't commit to any kind of long term program without the supervision of a gastroenterologist. We still can't get in to see one. Cathy got a call yesterday at 9 for a 10 o'clock cancellation (it takes 45 minutes to get down there). She would have struggled to make it, but she had to go in to work. So we keep waiting and Maria keeps not drinking. I've really grown to hate that NG tube.

Cathy seems to have found a good nanny. She's worked with MS kids before so isn't bothered by all the medical stuff. She has kids and grandkids of her own, including twin grandsons just about Maria's age. She's also much more optimistic about Maria's development level than, well, everyone else. The doctors just talk about what's wrong. Even the therapists, who are much more positive than the doctors, still focus on her weaknesses and not her strengths because that's their job. It gets easy to lose sight of the positive things.

Maria's fourth tooth has popped through just today. We're hoping that will make her less fussy. She's definitely going through another yelling stage.