• So here we are again…

    June 2, 2011 By in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder 2 Comments

    Tomorrow is D-day. At 1030 am Alice will arrive back at St. George’s Hospital in London for the surgery to fit her second, left-side Cochlear Implant.

    It all feel so very different this time.

    Alice’s Mummy and I have buried our heads in the sand and have tried not to think about the mechanics of what will happen tomorrow. Anyone who has had a child go through surgery will know how bad it feels. That said, Alice’s recovery last time was so rapid – she didn’t even have any painkillers beyond 24hours after her surgery – that we can but hope she doesn’t hate us for putting her through this – again!.

    I guess that’s the crux of the issue. The first implant was an easy decision – if we wanted Alice to hear and speak it was the only option. This time round, the benefits will be fewer and farther between, but we are still convinced we are doing the right thing. In any case, Alice keeps asking when she is getting her new ‘Big ear’. She wants pink covers for both of them too. Bless.

    After the surgery comes the misery of the three week wait until she is ‘switched on’.

    In so much as Alice understands what is going on, I think she thinks ‘Doctor David will put magic in my ear” (as we keep telling her) and that she will hear straight away. Little does she realise there will be the wait before she gets her processor and then a period (hopefully a short one) of learning to listen through the newly implanted side.

    On another note, we finally heard back from Surrey County Council regarding Alice’s statement and our negotiations to avoid tribunal. We have reached agreement. I was so happy I cried.

    Say a prayer tomorrow and wish Alice well – she’ll be in surgery some time after lunch – and remember Mrs. Bump from last time:

    Meet Mrs. Bump

  • Three Men In Another Boat

    May 18, 2011 By in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder Leave a comment

    I Think this year we really must have lost our minds.

    Some of you will remember last summer, when three intrepid oarsmen set off to row the Thames, from Kingston to Oxford – upstream – in only three days – Three Men In A Boat 2010

    We raised over £5,000 for Auditory Verbal UK and in doing so, hopefully gave something back to a wonderful charity that has changed our lives.

    Auditory Verbal UK is a National Charity that teaches deaf children with hearing aids and cochlear implants to listen and speak. After three years of family-based Auditory Verbal therapy, over 80% close the language gap and enter mainstream schools alongside their hearing friends. The charity works directly with around 60 families and reaches out to many more through training programmes for professionals across the UK.

    Without the help of Auditory Verbal UK our own daughter Alice, would not now be preparing to enter reception at a school she adores and is fully settled in with her friends.

    To say thank you again to the wonderful team at Auditory Verbal UK, we are, this year, upping the ante. Oxford to Kingston in two days. That’s 45 miles and 16 locks per day – pretty much non-stop for 14 hours a day.

    I said it last year and I’ll say it again – we must be mad.

    If we could raise anything close to last year’s phenomenal target, we could help make a real difference to children across the UK for whom Auditory Verbal UK presents their best chance of integrating fully in the hearing world and achieving their potential.

    Please support us and Auditory Verbal UK. Every penny really does make a difference.

    You can donate through JustGiving here – Three Men In Another Boat