Fancy Moulds

For five years, we have been taking moulds for Isobel's Hearing Aid. This is the latex part that gets inserted into her ear so the sound is directed straight into her ear. Her moulds have always been pinky clear in colour, we had no idea there was anything different.

This all changed today, at Isobel's last hearing test, it was noted that her hearing had deteriorated a little and the Resound Aid wasn't working as well as it could be. It was therefore decided, that she should get a new HA and while we were at it new moulds. Being used to having the imprints done, she sat patiently while the moulding agent was pumped into her ear and set. Then the fun began, She was then handed a book and asked, "What colour mould would you like?" It was then the world of coloured, glittered, animal patterned moulds was opened up to us. The choice was unbelievable! After what felt like ages to the rest of us, Isobel decided on two different styles.

Today, we were back at Dorchester Audiology to collect her new HA and more importantly her new moulds. As you can see she has chosen some colourful ones.

Her new HA is a Phonak Nathos S+. It is a more powerful HA with something called SoundRecover technology.  SoundRecover is a technology that gradually applies some shifting and lowering to just the highest frequencies in order to move them to a space where those sounds may be more audible. Simply put, it will make her hearing better. So looking great and hearing great!!!!!





Since being back in the UK, we have become members of the Dorset Deaf Children's Society. They have provided Isobel some great opportunites for us all to meet with other families with deaf/hard of hearing children. We have been fortunate enough to go on day trips and gatherings completely free of charge. It has been brilliant for Isobel to connect with other children 'like her'.

Last weekend, Isobel and Daddy went away for the weekend to PGL at Osmington Bay with the DDCS and had a fabulous time:


Daddy and I went to PGL for the weekend, I had a wonderful time. I loved the activities, which were climbing, archery, zip wire, Jacob's ladder and the giant swing. We had lots of nice food and made friends with Lexi and Nathan. Lexi and I played together a lot and we did all of our activities together. Lexi was deaf too. My favourite thing to do was the giant swing and archery. I can't believe I scored gold on my first time at achery. By Isobel

The End of an Era

It's been over two years since my last post. The CI mapping and HA programming were set up, all was as it should be, we settled into our new 'normal' life - no real updates on the hearing front.

There have however, been other changes in our lives. September saw us relocate to the south coast of our home country, England. The girls are loving living in England, all they could possibly want on tap, plus doting grandparents. They settled quickly into school and Isobel moved up to the correct school grade for her age (skipping Year 2) and is doing well.

Moving back to England meant saying goodbye to the private health system we had 'enjoyed' in Korea and starting Isobel's care with the NHS. It was a rocky start with difficulties getting the referral for the Audiological Implant Service (AIS) at Southampton University and the Audiology department at the local hospital, (they deal with each ear individually). But now we have them we're making good progress. The best of course is not having to pay for cables or batteries.

This week, we travelled to the AIS at Southampton, I must confess I was a little nervous. Not sure why, I just wanted the computer at the AIS to be able to read the mapping and know the mapping was good and that they agreed with everything that we had done so far.

I needn't have worried, Isobel was marvellous! She upgraded to a d-coil and was able to hear sounds as low as 25 decibels. She 'performed' very well in all the tests she was asked to do, the doctor said she was fantastic! The computer read the map and the internal parts are working great too. So good to know that everything is working well.

There has also been a cosmetic change. Any of you who have followed from the beginning would have seen the headband contraption I created to keep Isobel's CI and HA on her head. She has worn a variation of this everyday since she got her hearing aids. Well, this is no more, she is a 'big' girl now and wears her CI and HA over her ear. We were all a bit nervous about it falling off so the audiologist gave us a funny tube thing call 'active wear'. So far so good, it's doing it's job. Isobel will show you...

This may seem like such a small thing, but for her (and me) it is huge! something about always having her hair pulled off her face made her look younger, now I feel like she looks so much older. She sure is growing up fast!

We're off for a follow up for the HA ear in a couple of weeks, there maybe more changes afoot.

A Busy Afternoon

Finding your way around a hospital can be difficult, when all the the signs and directions are in Korean, the challenge increases. We learn things quickly though, pick up 'landmarks' along the way. Go down one floor at the first set of stairs, turn right down the hall decorated with bronzed fist impressions of Cancer survivors. At the end turn left and follow the corridor as it loops around until you reach the Audiology department. It has been a while since we last walked that route, but, we have it memorised, we found our way.

The route was the same, the little girl we walked it with however, wasn't. We walked those halls with a skipping, chattering little girl whose highlight was belting out 'Let It Go' as we entered the waiting area for the hearing test.

We had four back-to-back appointments yesterday afternoon. Mapping and a discussion with our audiologist was first. Isobel's CI needed a little tweaking, it was so much easier this time around not only because Isobel understood what was happening, but she had the vocabulary to really explain. She described the sounds as 'too loud, too soft, a little bit quiet, medium, OK, quiet, very noisy.' 

A proud moment!

Next we went into the sound booth for the hearing tests. First Hearing aid only, then CI only and then right ear unaided.

Right Ear Hearing Aid (Red) and Left Ear CI (Blue) and Right Ear Unaided respectively

What the diagram on the left shows is with her devices, Isobel is only suffering a mild hearing loss and can access all the sounds within the speech banana. It shows that her CI and HA are balanced and working well together so there is no need to implant the right ear at this point - Hooray.

Looking at the diagram on the right shows that she is clearly still very deaf, but on the up side, no deafer than when this journey started. Therefore her hearing is stable, which is a great thing.

Next up was tweaking with the hearing aid program, so everything is working tip-top!

Our last appointment was with the Professor. He was very impressed with Isobel's speech development, the results of the hearing test and how her ear looked inside. He finished our visit by stating that he thought 'Isobel would have no problems integrating into society with her peers'! 

Fantastic news!

We finished off the 'trip' with, as far as Isobel was concerned, the most important part. Chocolate milk and a muffin from Dunkin Donuts.

All in all, a busy (but well worth it) afternoon!

2 years on...

Happy New Year!

It's been just over two years since Isobel was diagnosed with her hearing loss. Two years since we began this journey to help her hear, understand what she hears and speak with clear, understandable speech.

When I look back to beginning of this blog (when the posts were frequent) I am amazed at just how far we have come. This time two years ago I was standing at the back of the room saying ooo, ah, sh and so on and she would put a cube in a bucket when she heard the sound and then repeat it back.

It feels so far away from the little girl that now chatters with her sister, or sings at the top of her voice, or tells her parents off when things don't go her way.










All is going well, we work through the games and activities and Nick invents more along the way. Isobel's speech is improving dramatically, new phrases, sentences and vocabulary everyday. Her speech is not always perfect, she can be 'sloppy' but she is also self correcting and correcting by imitation very well. We still have a long way to go, we are pushing for her to catch up with her peers, and to be consistently understood, especially by people who don't talk to her very often.



We had a great Christmas, we visited Mickey and his friends again. This time we were lucky enough to bump into Tinkerbell, along with many of the Princesses. As you see, lipstick marks to prove it. This time it was Estella in awe of the Princesses, she seemed to lose her tongue and couldn't answer any of the questions. Fortunately, Isobel was on hand to help her out by filling in the blanks.



She recovered quickly however, when the opportunity to goof around presented itself! It seems all photographs must now be accompanied by this mouth pulling, tongue stuck out version. The humour of children!

And so we settle into the post Christmas and New Year celebration routine of school, clubs and therapy. Of Course, I can't forget that someone has a birthday just around the corner!

These girls are growing up fast, and still loving their story time with Daddy. This time though, they are telling the story.

Let's hope that 2014 has the same great impact on Isobel Ears as 2013 has.

A Year (and a bit) of Bionic Hearing

So, It has been a whole year (and a bit) now since Isobel had her implant and was switched on! What a difference it has made to our lives. We were told today by her therapist that she has almost completed all of her auditory goals. That means that she has almost finished 'learning to listen' and will be 'listening to learn'. Amazing!

This doesn't mean that's the end of AVT, not by a long shot! We still have quite a way to go with speech and language development. Naturally these are the more challenging to develop, however, like the trooper she is, she is doing well here also.




We had parent-teacher conferences at her school this week, as always, a little nerve wracking. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to being on the other side of those. I needn't have worried though, the teachers had great things to say...

'... I love her enthusiasm...'
'... her strengths are in phonics...'
'... I forget she's deaf...'
'... she's so caring...'
'... she follows the routines well...'

A far cry from the angry, clingy, anti-social little girl beginning school 2 years ago.

Both girls enjoy reading and especially love story time with Daddy. It's quite an interactive experience, with Isobel listening and repeating. Of course Estella won't be left out of the mix and likes to join in the 'therapy'.

Not too shabby at maths either,

Until next time...

The Journey So Far

With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, I have been doing a lot of reflecting.

I have been looking through old photographs and getting very nostalgic. Whilst looking at pictures of Isobel before she was diagnosed, I noticed there are so few of her really smiling. 

The guilt of not realising she was deaf still gets to me, thinking she was just a naughty, angry child. The sadness of finding out she was deaf, my perfect little baby girl was maybe not so perfect. The challenges we went through, fitting hearing aids, putting her through surgery, second guessing our decisions so many times it was fifth or sixth guessing. Advocating for her with friends, teachers and doctors. Making sure we were in the right place, with the right team, to give her the best chance that she could possibly have.

This journey we are on is tough, it tires us out. I have never spent so much time thinking about the English language. How we say things and reinforcing right language whilst still trying to give a natural speech rhythm and not. say. each. word. slow. and. deliberate. Because that's not how we speak! 

But now I look at her and she beams at me, full on cheesy grins. She goofs around and finds herself hysterical! She has friends! She looks out for them, takes care of them when they're hurt or sad. She has a special relationship with her sister - all be it, love one minute, drive crazy the next. We can chat together, she tells us about her day, we laugh, we joke, we have fun!

We still have a way to go, but Isobel's most recent speech and language tests have come back with great results. She'll be finishing Preschool next week and moving on up to Junior Kindergarten!

So, here's to the journey so far!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

The sun is shining, flowers are blooming and we only have about 4 weeks left of school. How time is flying by!

Life seems to be just full of fun right now. Isobel is loving school and it is so great to have conversations with her about her day. When I think back to the beginning of the year, we would get two or three words about her day, now we get so much information. Not just about her day either, we know who hurt them self,  who got into trouble, who she played with, as well as some of the activities she has been doing. Just this morning she told me she was making a bird in her art class.

Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance

We believe she is really lucky to be here with the wonderful opportunities she has. This past month alone, she has had a Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance, Crazy dress up days, a Sports Day, not to mention going to different plays, music concerts and art exhibitions. 

She is talking so much and her confidence is growing rapidly. She is no longer afraid to ask what is that, in fact, she will hound you until you have completely explained it to her.

Her speech is becoming clearer, to the point that people who don't see or speak to her often can understand her. She is also beginning to enter into and over hear conversations. This is quite significant as this requires her to be passively listening, that is, listening when she is not the direct recipient of the information. It's a great development.

It is a relief to know that the choice to go ahead with the cochlear implant was the right one. Looking at the Sports Day video, it's also good to know that her hearing loss doesn't seem to have affected her balance at all.

The two girls together are flourishing, growing so fast, learning so much from each other (good and bad). We enjoy watching their interactions and how they are developing. It is so important for them, being in this international environment, friends will come and go in schools like this, but sisters, I hope, will always be there for each other. Even if it is to outshine one another with an impromptu performance whilst walking the mountain behind our school. 

Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters....

Fishing Around the World

Yet again, it's been a while since the last blog, time just keeps getting away from us. We're all ticking along days, rolling into weeks, then months, and before we know it, we'll be into the summer holidays.

Isobel is going from strength to strength, great school reports, calmer and more mature behaviour and according to her music teacher - singing in tune. This singing is quite amazing to us, as both of her hearing parents can't really do this!

As I have said so many times, she is such a happy, smiley child these days. She is really understanding humour right now, I love the sound of her laughter, it is so infectious!

AVT continues, we're looking at where people come from, where they live, introducing new vocabulary such as sports. Learning -ing words and playing lots and lots of 'Go Fish!' 




Here Isobel and Estella talk with Daddy about different countries they know and the people that might live or come from there.

Here Isobel is learning about different types of sports, asking for specific sports and using -ing verbs. (If you have the volume up loud enough, you'll hear a supportive 'Good Job' from Estella!)

On my last blog, I posted a video about the inspirational Long brothers. This time I've drawn inspiration from Rachel Coleman, founder of Signing Time. This video was posted on the Parents of Children who are Deaf or HOH group. It's an amazing story and reflection of discovering her child was deaf at 1 year old and how life changed because of it. She's the kind of Mum I hope to be like, when I grow up!

Christmas, Birthdays and 2013

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday visiting Disneyland Hong Kong. Anyone who knows Isobel, knows just how much she adores Disney Princesses right now, and wants to be one. She loves to dress up and whirl around the lounge dressed as Belle, Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.

We easily managed to fill 2 days at the park and also had a character lunch - great food, and a guaranteed photo with Mickey! I have to confess I was a little nervous about how Isobel would do at the park, there are pretty long noisy queues and lots going on to stimulate the senses. I just couldn't be sure how well she was going to cope and how I was going to try and control some of those situations.

Lucky for us, Disney had it all figured out. On our first day at the park, we stopped by Guest Services to see what could be done about getting seats for the shows so that Isobel could hear and see them properly. We sat her up on the counter and explained that she wore a cochlear implant and that she would find it difficult to appreciate the shows if she were off to the side or too far back. To our surprise, the very nice 'cast member' filled us out an 'accessibility' pass - yep, the one that also allows to to bypass the queues. It doesn't get you straight on the ride, but it significantly reduces the wait time.

We were not expecting this pass at all, but totally loved using it! Because we didn't have to queue for hours to get on rides, we were able to get photos and autographs with the Princesses, which of course Isobel just loved. She had an absolutely fantastic time, and not a melt down in sight, she coped remarkably well.

The New Year flew by with Estella's 3rd birthday and travelling back to Korea. School resumed, Isobel turned 5 and we celebrated with, of course, a Princess and Knights themed Party. Busy is an understatement!

Now all that is over, a calm moment to reflect on events from the past year, and look to what 2013 will bring.

All parents know, and will tell you, that their children are amazing, but I have to say Isobel amazes me. She is not a perfect child by any means and we still have some really tough days and unpleasant parenting to dish out, but there is something that she shows me each day that amazes me. She has worked so hard this last year, quite possibly without even realising it, this is taken from her Auditory Verbal progress report.

...In this approach (AV) the child is taught developmentally and all teaching is done through audition alone. The child’s hearing age is taken into account when setting goals and the child progresses through all developmental milestones in audition, speech and language. Isobel began at the beginning, with goals set that are typical for a child less than one year of age even though she was nearly four years old. She has progressed nicely since receiving her hearing devices and has gained approximately three years growth in only 14 months...

...She entered school with no language and now speaks in short phrases. She is less frustrated at home and communicates verbally rather than non-verbally. She can, for the first time in her life, talk to her parents about events and friends at school.

On our way to school this morning, she skipped along holding my hand, and recited the whole of 'No More Monkey's Jumping on the Bed'. Nick and I haven't taught her that particular song. The cool thing about this is that Estella taught her that one. I'm looking forward to 2013 bringing more of these experiences where two sisters can learn from each other and grow together.

I'd like to think that they'll be there for one another in the future as this truly inspirational boy is there for his brother.

A Year of Hearing

Well here we are one year later, one year of hearing, all be it only 10 weeks of bionic hearing, but in total it's been a year since we began this journey.


One year on, Isobel is a happy, smiley little girl who loves to chitter chat.

She now has a MLU (Mean Length Utterance) of 3.75, up from 2.5 in June. In a recent Speech Analysis, she came out at 3y 11m, just 1 year behind her chronological age. And her school report was pleasing with grades being appropriate for her grade level.


So all in all, we are feeling pretty good about Isobel's progress.


Currently, Isobel is excited about the upcoming festivities of Christmas, we are incorporating Christmas activities and vocabulary into our daily AVT sessions. These have become much more of a family affair with all of us working together. Even Estella likes to play the games and get involved. The funniest times of course, is when she wants to do the Ling Six tests. Isobel is always willing to be the teacher and heap on the praise when she gets it right.

During the last few weeks Isobel has really become a language sponge asking what is this? what is that? when is this..? She loves the calendar as a reference liking to mark important dates and then cross off the days until it arrives. One such event is our holiday to Hong Kong, she knows the date we are flying and will tell us everyday as she proudly puts a big X through the current day on the calendar. She has also learnt such things as birthdays, middle names, where she lives and favourite things, she enjoys talking and answering questions about these things.



You'll see what I mean. (Oh, do look out for the tiny hands that appear from nowhere!)






Goldilocks with Gusto

 

Stories are becoming a big thing in our house. The girls have always liked books but now they are really enjoying the stories.
One of them is Goldilocks and the Three bears. Only when we read it, it has to be Goldilocks and Apa Bear, Mama Bear and Estella Bear.




It is so popular that Isobel often likes to give us the abbreviated version. As always it is delivered with passion and ever so slightly dramatically!

So, as you see, it begins with introductions and ends with shouting.

Just like any other day really!

Another thing that Isobel really likes to do is to be the teacher. Once she has finished her Ling 6 using just her implant, it is only fair that Estella be tested.

I really like the way she claps when Estella gets it right and she finishes the test with a 'very good girl!'

Perhaps an auditory verbal therapist is training...

Hunting for Bears

Isobel is adapting to her cochlear implant beautifully. All the experts seem to be pretty impressed with how she's coping, what she can her and her responses to sounds.

We are striving forward with therapy in one respect, but have gone backwards in others. About 15 minutes a day, Isobel works without her hearing aid and just uses the implant.

We have gone back to our Ling 6 sounds and training her brain to hear them and distinguish between them. She is doing pretty well at it. She also has to distinguish between different songs that we've done from the beginning. She's also doing pretty well at that too.
She is back to not liking me to cover my mouth, as she is trying to cheat a bit while her brain get used to the new sounds and deciphering them. Knowing we have paced through this phase before gives me confidence to know that we'll get through it again.


Our current book for therapy is Michael Rosen's 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. It is full of lots of repetitive language, which is very good for listening to and echoing. Both girls are very much enjoying the book and get very drawn into it. It is so lovely to see Isobel getting so excited by stories and books.

 

 

We ended the evening by going on a bear hunt out the back of our apartment building. It was getting dark, so we took our torches and set of through the small wooded area looking for a bear. We used all the words we could remember as we trekked through our story.

 

Sadly, we didn't find a bear, but we did come across a big Apa instead!



Switched On

Isobel's scar is healing up nicely and yesterday, we were back at the hospital for our switch on.

I have to confess to being somewhat disappointed with the actual 'switch on'! After watching so many wonderful life changing moments on You tube, I think I may have built up the moment to be greater than it could ever be.

Realistically, it was never going to be an 'eureka moment'. Isobel isn't going from silence to perfect hearing and understanding. She's going from Some hearing and understanding to noise and confusion.

However, in the doctors office yesterday there was no real reaction to the device. The Audiologist showed us graphs so we could see that neurologically, it was working.

After going through 40 minutes of instruction of how to use the device, clean it and put together the variations of processor and battery pack combinations, we finally went home.

After the children had gone to bed, Nick and I went through our briefcase paraphernalia. So much stuff to go through and make sure that we know how it works and how to get it to stay on Isobel's ear. Finally, we went to bed wondering if yet again we had done the right thing.

So much stuff behind her ear

This morning was eventful, trying to get everything to balance and fit behind Isobel's ear. The conventional battery pack behind her ear is too big and fights against the coil and magnet causing her ear to really stick out.

In the end I opted for the child battery pack connected to the processor  a wire. I managed to get it to stay behind her ear by by sewing the ear gear sleeve to the headband that Isobel wears to hold her hearing aid on.

My CI Processor holder (patent pending - ha)

All was balanced and I switched the power on.

Isobel immediately burst into tears crying, "too much shout, too much squeak. EEEEEEE!"

A reaction! I was so relieved, concerned of course because she was crying, but thrilled to see a reaction to it. I managed to turn down the volume using the remote control and quickly she calmed down and was happy.

The walk to school was very different this morning. "ssshhh Mummy"

Later today she was playing with the sounds her voice makes, it's quite funny to listen to. She has also continued to be her chatty self, and as the day has gone on she has returned to the little girl full of smiles.

I guess, in the end, we got our 'eureka moment' after all.

Inside and Out

Here is Isobel's implant. This is a copy of the x-ray that she had immediately after her surgery last Tuesday.

Here is a close up of the implant section, how cool is it?

You can clearly see the electrodes coiling around the inside of her cochlea and the device implanted just under the skin above her ear. 

I find this image truly amazing, this tiny piece of technology is hopefully going to help her to hear so much better. With continued AVT it's hopefully going to help her speak more clearly and be able to communicate with others so much more effectively.

So Isobel had another big day today, she had her stitches out. Given the previous visits I was bracing myself for some serious screaming. Not the case, she was so brave and sat very still. The hardest, and most uncomfortable part for Isobel was removing the adhesive dressing. That was mostly because it was stuck to her hair, think band aid on a hairy arm multiplied by 100!

She has been given the all clear! No more dressings and back to school tomorrow. It isn't very pretty, and I'm sure there will be lots of conversation in her class about it, but, her hair will grow soon enough - in fact you can see new hair growing already. Given time the scar will also eventually fade.

As a friend of mine said to me last week, it is one more interesting chapter in the journey of her life.

The hard bit for now is stopping Isobel from touching the scar. It must be difficult, not being able to see it. She is always very interested to see the photographs we take. She looks at them, gasps and says 'big owie'.

For now it is a big owie, but it won't be for long...

Telling Friends

I am always trying to find different ways to make Isobel's journey a little smoother. Trying to think of scenarios that might happen and what can be done to help them be a little easier.

The transition back to school after the implantation surgery is one of these scenarios. How to explain everything to her little preschool friends and have them understand some of Isobel's behaviours and hearing problems.

I was looking for some kind of book that would explain to Isobel's friends how her hearing equipment works and the challenges she faces every day.

As always my first port of call are the children who are hard of hearing forums - they were full of super mums that had created wonderful scrapbooks, filled with photographs and beautiful hand written messages - true labours of love. Great memories but not really what I had in mind. 


Next port of call was Google -I struggled to find anything in the market, so I started to prepare myself for creating my own book, trying to ignore just how long it would take. Until one afternoon whilst aimlessly surfing I came across Experience Books www.experiencebooks.co.uk.


Online I adapted a character to look like Isobel and I clicked different criteria regarding her hearing equipment and difficulties she experiences. Also a really nice feature is listing different things she enjoys doing and what her everyday life is like.


We're looking forward to finding out what her friends at school make of it.

 



One of the pages from her book



Implanted

The first part is over!

Last Monday (13th August) we checked Isobel into the Children's Hospital at Severance in Seoul.

We got settled into the room, unpacked a few bits and got ready for the 'camping trip' that Isobel thought she was having.

We told her that she and Mummy were going on a camping trip and that she would also be getting a new special computer ear.

She was so very brave when I had to shave the hair around her ear. The nurse measured 3 cms around her ear and drew the shape on her scalp with a Biro. After reassuring her it wouldn't hurt, I set about shaving the hair up to the drawn line.

As if that wasn't enough for the first night,
she then had to have a skin test for antibiotics because she's allergic to penicillin.

She then spent the rest of the evening watching movies before falling asleep.

The next morning. bright and early, the nurse arrived to fit the IV and before we knew it we were off to the Operating Room. Then began the longest 2 hours of our lives.

We tried to have some breakfast and read a while but thoughts and concerns kept flooding back to our little girl on the operating table.

The minutes slowly ticked by until the screen finally read operation complete. The worst part was seeing her in the recovery room. Her throat and chest were clearly sore, and she had this awful dog bark cough. She was so very pale and she was feeling sorry for herself - and quite rightly too!

Next was an X-ray to check that everything had been inserted correctly (it had been) and then it was back to the ward for a little rest. After a couple of hours, she was allowed to nap if she wanted to, she didn't, and have a drink.

She was suffering from quite a bit of pain so the nurse gave her some pain killers. They seemed to take effect quite quickly because soon enough she was calming down and the colour was returning to her cheeks.

After a couple of hours, and a few bathrooms visits, she was walking around, dragging her IV around with her, back to her chatty, smiley self.

A restless night followed, not for Isobel, but for me. The bandage worked its way off the top of her head no less than 5 times. I had to keep redoing it so her wound wasn't exposed throughout the night.

Early this morning a doctor visited to change the large bandage for a smaller dressing. This one was much better, much less itchy and Isobel clearly felt a lot more comfortable. She wanted to wear regular clothes and was quite excitable and bouncy.

Her wound was then inspected by the surgeon, it was fine with just a little swelling, and he showed me the X-ray. It was really cool to see the device and be able to count the electrodes in her cochlea. Amazing! Even more amazing, he said Isobel was doing so well she could go home this afternoon.

With that done, all that was left was to pay the bill, pack up, and get out of Dodge.

So, that's what we did.






It's good to be home...