FINALLY! Ava has her new processors!

Ava picked up her new Nucleus 5 processors yesterday. They are very sleek and much thinner than the Freedoms. The reason Ava was able to get the upgrade was because she was implanted with the Nucleus 5 back in March as part of the study. Now that the N5 processors have been released, she was able to upgrade so that her internal implant now matches the external processor. Here are a few pictures to show the comparison of Freedom vs. Nucleus 5 processors:

In addition to being much smaller/thinner, the new processor has:

-improved water resistancy - IP44 and IP57 ratings

-auto-telecoil

-remote control - the screen on the Freedom processor which was used for programming and troubleshooting, etc has been replaced by a remote control which has a much larger screen and is also in colour - this is a fantastic feature as it also features a trouble shooting program and takes you through a step by step list of how to troubleshoot-the remote is also used to adjust volume and sensitivity levels- the remote is also used to test the processors to make sure they are working properly

-the coil headpiece is now detachable from its cable

-two batteries instead of three

However, the processor is only using disposable batteries for the time being as the rechargeable battery has not received FDA approval - it is unknown as to when the rechargeable battery will be approved - we have been using the rechargeables with the Freedoms and have never used the disposables - it was so much more convenient. The disposables apparently have a life of 38 hours. So for Ava, the batteries will last just over three days as she wears her processors about 10 hours/day.

For some people, this upgrade may cost thousands of dollars. Do I think it is worth it? Depends on what the cosmetic difference is worth to you. All in all, the technology of the N5 processor as a hearing device to my knowledge is probably not much different then that of the Freedom. If it were us, we probably wouldn't pay to upgrade at this time. Ava was doing remarkably well with her Freedoms, having met or exceeded her targets for 6 months post activation.

HAPPY TRICK OR TREATING!!!!

A Sunny Farm Day, Language Explosion and Walking!

A Sunny Farm Day

Today we took the girls to Downy's Farm during its annual pumpkin festival. I took my older children there every year when they were small. The farm is fantastic. They have a giant corn maze, huge pumpkin patch, petting zoo, farm animals, hay rides, fresh pies, haunted house, make your own scarecrows, to name a few things. Can you imagine Ava's surprise at meeting the farm animals up close for the first time! She was awestruck and speechless. It was hilarious. She met two cows, sheep, goats and geese.

Explosion

Ava's implants have been activated for nearly 6 months. Not only has Ava started walking this month, but there has been an explosion in her expressive language and receptive language. Month by month she has added a word or two to her vocabulary. This month, not only has she amassed another 8-10 words, she also can speak those new words much more clearly. She has also put two words together for the first time "don't touch" (but does not say this clearly) and she wags her arm and shakes her head no when she says it. Today she said "sock".....(pronounced as "saw") and she said this with the "s" sound. I was so shocked! I understood that many hearing children don't use the "s" until they are nearly 3 years old. I could almost swear I heard the "ck" sound at the end one time but it was pretty darn close. Her receptive language has really taken off too......she seems to understand everything....."go get the ball" , "do you want a book?", "give the cow to mommy", "kiss the baby", "gimmee five", "where's the ______ . Her favourite book is "Brown Bear" by Bill Martin Jr. She wants us to read this book over and over and over! At the end of that book, there is a compilation of all the animals in the book on one page. Tonight, when I asked her "where's the white dog", she pointed to it as well as correctly pointing to every single animal on that page. There is one other book she really enjoys and that is "Where's Spot" by Eric Hill. She doesn't have the patience for any other books yet except a couple counting books (one cat, two babies, three dogs, etc).

At the same time, we have noticed a change in her personality. Let's just say she is well on her way to entering the "terrible twos". She is starting to throw little tantrums if I have to take something away from her or if she doesn't get what she wants when she wants. And she is into EVERYTHING. She loves emptying and dumping things....her clothes out of her drawers, the pots and pans, the pantry. She is like that cartoon character-the tasmanian devil - causing a whirling mess everywhere she goes. So I allow her one cupboard in the kitchen that she is allowed to rummage in. She enjoys singing and doing the actions to the "head and shoulders, knees and toes" song.

In comparison to my 4 older hearing children, I can see how Ava is making huge strides in all aspects of her development. Being a deaf child with cochlear implants has not in any shape or form limited Ava's development or potential. She really is just a regular kid but special in her own lovable ways. Who could ask for anything more than that?

Unexpected Surprise!

AVA SAYS "APPLE"!!!!!!!!

Please let me tell you the story of our unexpected surprise at about 5:30pm tonight. I was cooking dinner. As usual, Ava was impatient because by 5pm she is a starving green eyed monster who MUST EAT at 5pm (like her daddy lol!) Well, as usual, dinner is not ready at 5pm, so poor little Ava has to WAIT and wait and wait......So, she starts to whine a little. The pasta is boiling away. I decide to pick up my hungry child and bounce her on my hip while I stir the pasta. I move over to the kitchen window and stare outside, watching the leaves fall from the trees and thinking how autumn has arrived and we should close the pool soon. And out of nowhere, without warning, Ava leans over from my hip, points to the apple on the window sill and says "a-pple" just. like.that. "a-pple". As clear as it could ever be. As clear as if I had said it. Two concise clear syllables; pronouncing each vowel and consonant "a-pple" just. like. that. I pause and just stare.....totally disbeliving....what.I.just.heard. I scream for my husband...."DID YOU HEAR THAT? SHE SAID APPLE!!!!!" Ava has never, ever said apple. Ava has never even had a word approximation for apple. Nada, never,zilch. HOLY CRAP i just about fainted. It was the most unexpected yet sweet surprise I have ever had IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! It was beautiful and insane at the same time. I said to my husband, "do you think she will say it again?" I grab the apple out of Ava's hands (already half devoured by her!). My husband positions the video button on his i-Phone......and here is the precious video....


So, I dedicate this video for all my friends who have precious children who are blessed to have (or are about to receive) cochlear implants. Ava is 14 months old and has been hearing for just under five months. And today, without warning or expectation, she said apple. Just.Like.That. I am so HAPPY! She is the "ap-ple" of my eye.

Ava's Song

Ever since I started writing this blog, it really has been all about...well, Ava of course. But just as important are the members of Ava's family who all play a fundamental role in her journey. Ava is very fortunate to have Markus as her daddy (and I as his wife). Markus is a children's singer/songwriter. He has appeared on Treehouse Tv and wrote and performed the live stage show for Bob the Builder , which has toured all across Canada. Markus also wrote a live stage show for Toopy and Binoo, which is currently touring across Canada. Ava's daddy wrote her a song, which was performed for the first time at Union Hearing Aid Centre's annual "Hear Here" fundraiser. I am proud to post the "unplugged" version of the song, along with the lyrics. To hear the song, click on "Ava's Song" on the sidebar to hear the song OR scroll down to the very bottom of the page and there's a music player with a video montage of the song. The song is currently being mastered at the studio and the mastered version will be posted in time. So grab some tissues, hold your beautiful child and enjoy......

Ava's Song - Words and Music by Markus 2009 all rights reserved

I listen to the wind in the trees
I understand when you talk to me
All the sounds that are part of me
I hear the love of my family

My life is filled with sounds to enjoy
I sing with Daddy when we play with toys
I laugh with Mommy and the girls and boys
All I hear brings me love and joy

It's the words I hear when you talk to me
It's the songs I sing when you sing with me
All the world is opening up for me
When I listen and I hear

I listen to the wind in the trees
I understand when you talk to me
All the sounds that are part of me
I hear the love of my family

Where has the summer gone?

I can't believe it's September! School starts in a few days as well as hockey, gymnastics, dance lessons, homework, school projects......at least if the weather holds up we should still get in another month of swimming.

Ava resumed her AVT about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Boy does it feel good to have that therapy back. Ava has been hearing for 4 months now and she is 14 months old. She is now at the stage where she is using jargon and sounds like she has her own language. It can be quite amusing, especially when she is angry. If her older sister takes a toy away from her, she will use this really angry jargon at her sister. I can only imagine what the real interpretation is.

Ava's receptive language has really exploded. She seems to understand everything. She can point to 7 body parts when asked. She can do the actions to 3 different songs on verbal cues alone. She can pick the correct object out of a group of 3 or 4 objects when asked "give me the ______" She turns to her name consistently. She understands (but doesn't obey) "no" (she thinks its a funny game instead). Her favourite thing to do is to go upside down on all fours. Here is a video of her doing it on my verbal cue alone.



She still isn't walking yet. She is so close but really not that interested. She can stand alone and hold her balance really well and cruise all over but she would rather crawl - and she does this at lightening speed! Anyone else out there have late walkers?

We spent a weekend in August at the annual VOICE camp. It was held at Bark Lake in Irondale, Ontario. It was our first time there and my husband Markus was asked to do a concert for the kids. It was the most fantastic time ever. We met so many really wonderful families and it was great to swap stories and tips with other parents of kids with CI's and hearing aids. It was really well organized with activities for the babies and kids of all ages - canoeing, fishing, hiking, high ropes, beach and great food. We are looking forward to coming back year after year. Thank you to Rhonda and Shawna for making us feel so welcome. Here are a few pictures.




I will close with a quote from a VOICE poster. I read it a couple weeks ago and it had quite an effect on me and sums up how right we were in our decision to have Ava implanted.
"I am 5 years old. I like school, especially gym. I talk to my daddy when he calls me from work. I tell my dog Scooter stories. I listen to music, I am deaf, I can speak and I have a voice."

NO AVT!!!!

I know, I know, I haven't been posting as often. My reasons? #1 -S U M M E R! That means 6 kids running in and out of the house. #2 - here in Toronto, the City's unionized employees CUPE 416 and CUPE 79 are on STRIKE. What does that mean? No garbage pick-up. No city-run summer camps (affects 3 of my kids-which means they are home ALL THE TIME) and, worst of all, NO auditory verbal therapy for Ava. That really, REALLY sucks. She's only been hearing for just under 3 months and the therapy is CRUCIAL to her language development. The therapy should be considered an essential service. The longer the delay in therapy, the longer it will take for Ava to catch up. What makes me ill is that we used to have a really great therapist who is a Teacher of the Deaf (TOD) who wasn't connected to the City. But we were told we weren't allowed to use her because she was missing some sort of certification - really a political excuse, but, whatever. So then we were referred to another really great therapist who happens to work for the City and now we can't use her either because of the strike! So, where does that leave us? WITH NOTHING. We have not been successful in finding another therapist as of yet for temporary therapy during the strike. We will have to pay out of pocket and find private therapy, which we will do if this strike doesn't end in the next couple weeks.

Despite not receiving the therapy, I do feel that Ava is still moving along with her hearing and receptive language. She is imitating many sounds now. She vocalizes ALL THE TIME, a real chatter-box. She seems to be building many approximations and her receptive language continues to grow too-we can see she understands more and more words now. So I guess its all good for now but without that professional feedback, the doubts really creep up on me - very unsettling feeling.

Ava just had her Baptism yesterday. It was such a beautiful day and she looked so precious in her white gown. The priest was very considerate and took care not to get her CI's wet. I noticed a few stares from the congregation. That is to be expected. It's too bad that CI's really are quite foreign to people even now-a-days. I would love it if people asked questions about Ava's CI's. The more we can educate the general public, the better it will be for Ava. I took the kids to a fast food place for lunch last week and a kind elderly woman approached me and asked me about Ava's CI's. After I explained that they allow Ava to hear and learn to speak normally, she told me that Ava is a gift from God and how blessed we are to have her. And how right she is!

Happy Birthday AVA!

AVA IS ONE!!!



Ava turned one year old yesterday! It was such a huge event for us, considering all that Ava has been through in her short 12 months! She is such an incredible, happy and sociable little girl. She is trying so hard to talk and uses her voice all the time. She loves her CI's and loves hearing stories, music, our singing and laughing. While she loves listening to all her musical and noisemaking toys she also loves the quieter sounds, such as the soft gurgling of the coffee maker, and the dings of the microwave when her food is ready. She loves watching her Baby Einstein videos. She loves chasing big sister Lauren all over the house and doubling over with giggles. She loves bubbles and eagerly says "or" for more.

Ava, you are my angel. Never be afraid to dream big. Never believe you have limitations, because you don't. You.Can.Do. Anything. Just spread your wings and fly, baby.

PS - Ava's newscast airing has been postponed to JULY 8TH! Stay tuned.

Amy