This one's for my friends

I'm thankful for my friends...I have many in real life and also online.Each of them serve a different purpose in my life.Some are fun to hang out with to share a few jokes,some are coffee buddies.Married friends might be good for parenting advice and single friends are good for when you need some cheering up for they do a lot of fun things (that I have stopped doing gazillion years ago it seems).I admit that I invest a lot of time in my friends.

But I have a few very good ones who over the years have become very closed to me.These are the ones who travelled 600 miles both ways to attend my wedding,cried when I became pregnant,jumped up and down in the Ob/gyn office when we discovered we were having a girl (more girl power!).These are the ones who were at the hospital during my labour,visited every night and stayed until midnight to help with the (screaming) newborn..and came to the house at 4 am to help with a screaming toddler.

They play a major role in Rhianna's upbringing as well..they babysit when ever I'm tired,they take her for outings,drive her to her classes and help plan her parties.The day I found out that my child is deaf,they cancelled everything and was just there for me.Then,they helped plan for her future.

Together we made various appointments and pulled all strings to give her the first CI.

Now,they are again demonstrating their value in my life as well as Rhianna's.These friends are the key to my quest for the second CI.They helped me find the donation from various people and companies.As the surgery time closing in and I start emptying my piggy banks,they are emptying theirs as well.

Even if I lived another hundred years,I wouldn't find anymore friends like the ones that I have now.
There are my rock,my sounding board..they are the gem in my life..

Striking while the iron's still hot

Rhianna's second surgery is yet to be scheduled.This July is an extremely busy month for me with Rhianna's multiple ear check up and therapy and also with the many changes in my career...(mum and dad still need to earn enough money for this little princess).

I have been asking around to see the importance of observing the optimal time for sequential surgery.The optimal time being 6-12 months between the two ears.If we are to follow that guideline,Rhianna needs to be implanted and switched on before September..that would mean..NOW! Like our ever helpful mentor Dr K said,we better strike while the iron's hot.

And then,there's the financial issue..this ear is going to cost us RM58K (which is a huge sum!).If we were to delay the surgery for a few months,we would have more time to raise the money needed.But if the few months delay is going to hinder Rhianna's progress..we would have to dig deeper into our pockets and empty more piggy banks and proceed with the surgery now.

I would really appreciate feedbacks from anybody with any experience at all.I need all the information before making any decision as I dont want it to come back and haunt us later..

9 months hearing and another ear coming her way

As the months passed by,I found myself more relaxed and more able to enjoy the time with my daughter.I'm no longer counting the hearing hours each day,or calling the nursery during my working hours to see whether my child is wearing her CI or not.
 Rhianna is hearing well with her CI and she knows it.Sure,from time to time she needs rest from the device but she likes it on most of the time.And her speech and language is blooming very well..she's consistently stringing words into phrases though some words are still approximation.

What amazes me most is how well she can listen in noise..just the other day she was standing about 2 meters behind me while I was doing dishes and she was able to answer my questions with all the kitchen noise.And best of all,she can now tell me when a sound is too loud for her.
Last couple of Sunday,we were at the Aquaria watching the fish feeding session and a man was talking on the mic.Rhianna came to me and said "tak nak (pointing to the CI),bising"..(dont want,noisy).So I switched it off for a while until the announcement was over...so no more struggle for both of us.

Though our principle is mainly AVT,we still teach her some signs and lip reading skill and she has gotten really good at these skills which she uses when not wearing her CI.One of my friend was very surprised to see her following instructions and answering questions via lip reading alone and suggested that we test her hearing again,in case she has regained her hearing somehow.How I wish that!..but nope.Last we checked,she's still not responding at any frequency even with her HA on..well she used to have 80dB for 250hz but even that is gone now.

So next week,we're going to empty our piggy bankS and make the RM 58K payment (yikes!) for her new ear and schedule the surgery.Hopefully,she'll get more benefit being a bilateral CI user..

We have FIFA World cup fever!

If you visit us these days,you'll most likely find us glued in front of the TV watching the highlights of the games that we missed.If you come on game night,you'll see many adults cramping on the sofa,some maybe sitting on the floor and one little girl probably stuck somewhere between the many adults.When there's any possibility of a team scoring a goal,you'll hear many voices cheering and shouting but you wouldn't miss one small voice shouting (with correct intonation and inflection)..Goal,goal,GOOOOAL!!

Flying solo

Since turning 3,Rhianna has been upgraded into 'creative kids' music appreciation class.This class is for 3-5 years old and no longer adult accompanied.
Again,she was not at all disturbed by the fact that she has to attend the class alone for an hour.I,on the other hand was very anxious to see whether she can cope with the other normal hearing kids since her language skill is still delayed.
In this class,the children learn about different musical instruments,and different music and movements activities.They are also encouraged to participate and socialize with friends and be more independant.
Unlike the toddler class where they always receive a little sticker as a reward for any kind of participation,this class reserves the stickers only for good participation and good behaviour.
Never in a million years would I be this nervous to see whether my child receives a sticker or not!This sticker to me signifies Rhianna's ability to compete with her hearing peers and of course her first step towards being in a mainstream education.
The minute she got out I checked,and there it was...the shining little sticker!My child has flown solo..