Cochlear Implants: Q & A

I have received several emails recently from parents of children newly diagnosed with hearing loss. I love the fact that this blog has allowed us to connect with other families all across the country (well, the world, really) that are going through similar experiences. Some of the questions I have received may be on the [...]

Dr. Jacques Herzog – Cochlear Implant Surgeon

Back what seems like years ago, when we were totally in the dark as to the different ways we may be able to help Drew, we were fortunate enough to meet Dr. Jacques Herzog who is a cochlear implant surgeon in St. Louis.
We called upon many of our friends and family members to help us [...]

Raise Your Hand!

Everyday in the US, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns is born profoundly deaf, with another 2-3 of 1,000 babies born with partial hearing loss. While pregnant with Drew I worried about so many things, but not once did I ever worry about him being able to hear. Little did I know that it is the [...]

Please

Read this. Then you will understand why I feel the need to comment here.
. . .
Drew’s Dad stumbled upon this blog post today about “Turn On My Ears” and he made the mistake tonight of letting me read it. I can not ignore this blog post, and feel the need to comment here.
I can imagine [...]

Auditory Verbal Therapy

With Drew’s surgery now scheduled and a much easier than anticipated insurance approval process behind us, I have now begun to seek out therapists that will help our hearing Drew learn to identify and listen to sound and eventually speak!
Right after his surgery was scheduled I began to get really nervous about the surgery itself. [...]

25% Budget Cut to the Regional Infant Hearing Program

We have learned that Governor Ted Strickland has proposed a budget cut to the Ohio Department of Health which will result in a 25% cut in funding for the Regional Infant Hearing Program in the state of Ohio. This RIHP is vital to families which include a child who suffers from hearing loss. It provides [...]

Back to the Drawing Board

What made us start questioning our decision to go to Cincinnati? We thought we had everything figured out. We have agreed to be a part of the research project Dr. Choo is doing at Cincinnati Children’s. We have had all of Drew’s diagnostic testing conducted in Cincinnati. Why the sudden change of heart, you may [...]

Columbus – We Don’t Want to Leave

I feel like my life is in a constant state of fast forward. Between balancing two young children, work, home, doctors appointments, school intervention, family obligations, I hardly have time to sleep (and that has been rare recently, with Drew waking during the night). And just when I think things are about to go back [...]

Baby Steps

We have doing activities with Drew on a daily basis to stimulate communication and to see if he is able to detect even the loudest of sounds with his hearing aids. We are enrolled in a monthly parent education program through the Columbus Hearing Impaired Program that gives us specific activities that can help stimulate [...]

Deaf and Proud to Use Sign Language – Link

This ABC News article discusses the debate between living life as deaf or with diminished hearing, or having technological assistance through the use of hearing aids or a cochelar implant.
One of the first things my wife and I noticed when learning about Drew’s options was that many of the professionals we saw “danced around” certain [...]