She Can Hear!

The device is programmed and on! She responded by looking up and turning to look for the source of various sounds during the programming appointment. She does'nt seem upset or scared. She is wearing the device and not pulling on it at all. We are so excited! The device is turned up gradually. She will wear it at this level for a couple of days and then we will bump it up every 2-3 days as tolerated. Now it's time for the hard work - learning to listen and make sound associations! At home she responds to several noisy toys, the phone and microwave. She makes the funniest facial expressions demonstrating her shock and amazement. We will try and post some videos soon! Please praise the Lord with us as we rejoice that our daughter can finally hear us say "I love you" and hear us sing "Jesus Loves Me" to her. There is no doubt that he does love Marygrace! How blessed we our to have her be apart of our family and experience this incredible journey with her!

Sept.- Oct. 2007

Marygrace is doing great!!!

Marygrace is recovering amazingly well! The surgery began at 3:00 P.M. yesterday and we left the surgery center at 7:00 P.M. We could not believe how quick the procedure was. Marygrace was easily comforted in daddy's arms (of course) with a few kisses from mom where her IV was. She is very dramatic and wants everyone to kiss the spot where her IV was. She is eating and drinking and slept a full 12 hours! Praise God!!!
If you saw her, you would have no idea that she had surgery yesterday. We are anxiously waiting for Nov. 7 when the implant will be programmed and turned on. We can't wait to see her face when she hears our voices for the first time! Thank You all for your prayers. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! I will try to post some pictures from the past month later this week. There was a shower for Marygrace at church earlier this month. It was so much fun for both of us and we were very pampered and spoiled! Thank you to everyone who made that such a special day for us!

Surgery has been moved up to Oct. 15!

Marygrace's surgery has been moved up to Oct. 15. There will be a three week recovery period before the device is turned on and programmed. This is scheduled for Nov. 7. We appreciate prayers for Marygrace and the surgery to be successful! We will continue to update her blog with any news.

Aug. - Sept. 2007

Surgery Scheduled!

Marygrace will have have her first cochlear implant surgery on Oct. 23. This is the same day that we decided she would become part of our family last year. What a special day for Marygrace! We are thrilled that she will have the opportunity to hear and we are especially thrilled that she is a part of our family!!! Please pray for the surgery to go well with no unforeseen complications. They will turn on the implant 3 weeks after the surgery and Marygrace will have to learn to listen and connect sounds with the source. It will be a very scary and exciting time for her. We will measure her progress over months not weeks, but hope that over the next year her speech and language skills will develop. Also, please pray that we will be approved for her second implant before the end of the year. We would love not to get hit with a new deductable and have to hit our out of pocket limit next year. Merck is also switching insurance Jan. 1 and there is some concern that a second implant may not be covered. Thus, it would be great if we could do it before the end of the year!

Daddy took these great pics!