| CI Journey Journal Pg.1 (First Visit to CI Center) |
 |
| October 17, 1999 Well, today was an exhausting day. We left Friday morning at 4:30 am and got to Rochester (Mayo Clinic) at about 8:15 am. The trip there was wonderful, as we were excited!! We went to meet with Dr. Shallop and Ann Peterson at about 8:45 am. We felt very comfortable, as they signed to Cierra, which she is pleased when anyone can sign to her because that is her language. Cierra played for a while as we visited about Auditory Neuropathy and Cochlear Implants. It was very interesting!! Cierra then went to get an audiogram and an ESP(Early Speech Perception) test done, and Jason and I went and learned alot from Dr. Shallop. I was so impressed, I can't even explain it!! He knows his stuff, and I will tell you, that is so hard to find! Cierra did wonderful! She was such a good girl, we were so proud of her! Then at 12:00, we went to take a lunch break. We went back to the office at 1:30 pm and at that time, Cierra got an ABR and OAE's done. She did not need to be sedated because she was very still. Again, I can't say enough how proud we were and are of her! It was so neat, because Dr. Shallop took the time to explain everything to us! That seems very rare for what we have run into in the past! Anyhow, I thought we knew alot before, but man, did we learn alot about the way the whole auditory system works, which I think is essential to know when your child has a hearing impairment of some kind. All I can say, is that we are so thankful to God that we had the patience to wait, as hard as it was, because it was more than worth it!! We left the office at around 4:30 pm and drove home. Cierra wants the CI so badly, because she knows now that she does have limits and how she is isolated from the hearing world. We refuse to put hearing aids on her, because they do not clarify what is being said, only amplify. I have 100% trust and 0% doubt in my mind that the CI is definately the right thing to do for Cierra!! I can't say enough how wonderful our trip was, although we were so exhausted, but more than worth it! Our next appointment is November 15-17. Cierra and I will be going ourselves and staying in a motel. Those days will consist of seeing Dr. Facer, the surgeon, CT scans, MRI's(maybe?), vestibular testing, more speech evals, and such! We are ready for them!! I just can't stress enough how much we appreciate the knowledge of Dr. Jon Shallop and Ann Peterson! They were wonderful people to work with! I am definately happy we went there! Anyhow, I could go on and on about what went on in the visits and how wonderful it was, but I will close for now, just saying that we are so happy with where we are in this process! Sincerely, Misty Hauf |