My son has been diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy, Hearing Loss, and Choreoathetoid Cerebral Palsy. He also had blood clots (part from genetics, part from KI and treatment). They told me he was "stone deaf" at 2 months old. That we needed to get hearing aids "now" to try to stimulate the sound receptors in his brain so he might be able to get a Cochlear Implant when he got older...but it would take 3 months to get these very important hearing aids. I put ear buds into his carseat bumper pad, and played music (mp3 player and cords tucked under his bumper pad) to the side of his head very chance I got. Since he was seeing Dr's about 5 times a week, this gave him lots of listening time.
TODAY, my son turns 3 years old! He can hear (started getting sound @ 7m old and never had a CI put in). He can speak clearly (most days). He can walk (first steps after 18m old) and run, though he falls often. He is truly an amazing miracle. Every time the Dr told us what he "couldn't do", I said "just one more thing for him to prove he can do". He does have issues, but they are so minor compared to some KI kids. His muscle control is sporadic. There are days that one hand can't pick something up, and he has to use the other hand. Days when his speech is hard to understand, because his mouth muscles are giving him trouble. Days when he falls way more than normal...these things are just a bump in the road now. He had his last therapy day with "Birth to Three" this week. We will miss these special ladies who came to the house to see him and "play" with him every couple weeks. They really encouraged him to improve his skills this last year.
I have a couple pics he asked me to take last week:
Yes, his face needs washing, again, but who can resist that smile?
How about Peak-A-Boo?
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I hope to catch some more smiles when he sees this cake, later today:
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| Joey's 3rd Birthday cake |
