We want Cochlear Implants, stat!

There is such a range of emotions that parents experience when finding out that their child is deaf. I won't expound in great detail on it, but I will say that I have relived every day and every memory that I had of Taylor back to her birth, how she reacted to certain situations and what I would have done differently had I known that she was deaf. But I am a person of action, and revisiting the past isn't going to get us anywhere. What to do? We had done research before the diagnosis, and knew cochlear implants would be our preference for Taylor if she was profoundly deaf. Let me give you an idea of what the summer was like: June 8 - ABR, diagnosis Profoundly Deaf; first appointment with otolaryngologist/CI surgeon June 10 - CT scan to rule out tumors and ensure the anatomy was normal and would allow CI June 12 - Second appointment with otolaryngologist; Speech therapist appointment June 15 - Pediatric cardiologist appointment to rule out any syndromic deafness with associated heart conditions. (None found) June 19 - Appointment with Audiologist. Taylor got her hearing aids. June 26 - Speech therapist appointment. No benefit shown with the aids. July 21 - First appointment with new otolaryngologist at Hough Ear Institute in OkC. Genetic testing sample taken. July 27 - Audiologist appointment. No benefit with aids. July 27 - Wichita Otolaryngologist appointment. Their Goal for her CI surgery, on one side - November. Taylor would be 17 months old. Not acceptable to us. July 28 - Genetic testing results, 2 recessive copies of Connexin 26 gene mutation. August 3 - First meeting at Hearts for Hearing, our audioverbal therapy center in OkC. August 10 - BILATERAL COCHLEAR IMPLANT surgery at the Hough Ear Institute!! Age 14 mo.

This glosses over so many important decisions that we had to make along the way: To sign or not to sign (We are!) ASL or SEE or Baby Sign? We selected SEE, Sign Exact English. Nucleus Freedom or Advanced Bionics - selected Cochlear's Nucleus Freedom. Implant on one side or both? BOTH! Simultaneous or Bilateral surgery? She had both implants done at the same time. What colors of implants? What types of processors? What causes deafness? How do we get genetic testing? Do we drive 7 hours roundtrip for audioverbal therapy for the next few years? And then there are all of the long-term decisions that we'll have to make -- will we have to move to a larger city with better access to schools and therapy? With a 25% chance of having another deaf child, should we have more children? And how do we get involved to make the process easier for the parents that come after us? CI Activation Date: September 9, 2009. Location: Hearts for Hearing, Oklahoma City