We hope this section will give you some background on the sequence of events that have taken place. Also, hopefully you will get a glimpse of the decision process we have gone through and the reasoning behind some of our choices.
Luckily, Laney was screened as a newborn at the hospital before we went home. After quite a few additional screenings, 2 ABR test and an MRI we found out for certain when she was 3 months old.
We initially had a period of grieving, but quickly realized that we needed to take this on full speed. We went to the internet and searched for any information possible. We went out and bought a book on sign language. We had never heard topics such as auditory-verbal therapy, total communications, or cochlear implants. We now wanted information on what to do for Laney.
We begin to read more and more about this strange device. It seemed to hold the key to what we wanted to give our daughter most of all...the ability to achieve anything she wanted. We just believed that for her to have equal opportunity that she had to operate in the hearing and speaking world. We read of how impressive some of the kids with implants had become. We wanted to know how they got there and wanted to meet some of these kids.
If you are unfamiliar with how the cochlear implant works you can click on the link below and follow the directions for a short video clip on how it works. The clip is provided by MED-EL©.
In our thirst for more information we had heard of a woman that worked with a friend of the family. Her son wore hearing aids and went to The Auditory-Verbal Center of Atlanta, Inc.. We decided to set up an appointment with the center and see what it was all about. When Laney was four months old we went to Atlanta, GA from Valdosta, GA to meet with Mrs. Mary Ann Costin of The Auditory-Verbal Center of Atlanta, Inc. It was a day that changed our lives forever! Mrs. Costin was the most genuine and caring person for children with hearing impairment. She answered all our questions and gave us information about questions we would not even have known to ask. She then asked if we would you like to meet some of their kids. We eagerly accepted. As soon as we meet some of the children that were receiving therapy..we knew! That was what we wanted for Laney.
Next Mrs.Costin told us the first thing was to get Laney hearing aids to see what kind of effect they would have. We received a loaner pair from AVCA's audiology department. We did not have to pay for these. Hearing aids are expensive. Especially, when you are not sure if your child will benefit from them, so the center was very helpful. We got Laney's hearing aids and begin going to AVCA once a month. We learned that Laney was not receiving little or no benefit from her hearing aids. She was a perfect cochlear implant candidate. We learned she had to wait until she was 18 months old to receive the implant due to FDA regulations (at present some implants are being done at 12 months). In the months that followed we tried to prepare our lives for the changes that we knew had to be made. We continued to visit the center once a month and read all the information we could get our hands on. We continued making Laney wear the hearing aids. **[We feel like this really paid off after the implant, because Laney had been subjected to some sound therefore she was not as afraid when the implant was turned on. Plus, she was so used to having something on her ears that she never tried to take off the implant.]
Since Laney would need weekly therapy after the implant, we decided to move closer to Atlanta. The 3 1/2 hour drive was just too much. This was one of the major obstacles with choosing Auditory-Verbal therapy. The Qualified A-V therapists are not easily accessible to all geographic locations. The Auditory-Verbal Center of Atlanta, Inc. has taken an enormous step in addressing this problem. They have created an immersion center where families can come in for a week of intense A-V training. The training is carried out in a home environment that stresses the incorporation of therapy techniques into their daily routines. This allows families to pursue Auditory-Verbal therapy regardless of geographic location.
After uprooting our lives and going to countless doctor's visits in order to satisfy the requirements to receive the implant, the day had finally come. On May 16th, 2000 Laney received her cochlear implant at Egleston Hospital on the Emory University Campus. Her doctor was Dr. Wendall Todd of Emory University. The best way I can described Dr.Todd is to say that he is in medicine for all the right reasons. The devotion and love of his patients speak volumes of his character. We felt as if our child was in good hands.
Well, the surgery went great. We went home the next day and Laney bounced back extremely well. She was playing as normal the very next day! However, we must warn you that when they brought her out of surgery we were overwhelmed by the sight of the bandages and swelling. When the bandages were removed the next morning we were once again overwhelmed, but I truly feel it was more painful to us than her. Looking back we have no regrets for giving Laney the opportunity to hear and speak.
If your child is going to have the surgery make sure to take a look at the pictures of Laney after surgery in the photo album. This will give you an idea of what to expect.
After much discussion and questions into which device we should go with we decided on the MED-EL. There were two primary reasons that we selected MED-EL. The first and foremost was the actual size of the implanted piece. It is the thinnest device available and that is what our surgeon recommended due to Laney's small size. I think this will become even more important as surgeries are done at younger and younger ages.
The second reason was that it seem to have the lastest technology with respect to processing speeds and the number of electrodes. However, with everyone we asked they seem to think a child can succeed with any of the devices available today.