Where's Summer!?

Peanut's ready for summer, but I don't think summer is ready for Peanut. We had snow here last week, which I guess isn't really all that odd for April, but enough already!

I hope everyone had a good Easter. We had my parents over for dinner so they could visit with Charlotte. No one comes to see us anymore. We just happen to live in Charlotte's house.

We had our appointment with Easter Seals last Wednesday and the audiologist did a little more testing and found the same results that the other audiologists found. So, now we're just waiting for the hearing aids to be approved by the powers that be down in Springfield, and maybe in a week or two Peanut will be able to go back and get the molds done. The hearing aids will be the ones that go behind the ears and then the microphone goes in the ear along with a mold that fits her ear canal. We'll probably have to get the mold redone quite frequently. I've heard estimates from every two weeks to every two months, depending on how quickly her ear grows.

The audiologist at Easter Seals had a neat software program where she could input the ranges that Peanut could hear and then play sounds for us as she would hear them. For example, she played a woman speaking just as you and I would hear it that sounded just like the woman was standing next to me. Then she played the woman speaking as Peanut would hear it. It sounded to me like the woman was a few rooms away and she had a pillow over her mouth - distant and muffled. So, not only does Charlotte need sounds to be amplified, there's also going to be clarity issues that we'll have to overcome. I say "we" because here is where Brian and I and the therapists come into the picture to try and figure what she's hearing and then try and connect that to what you and I hear.

I am so grateful that the state will cover the costs of Charlotte's hearing aids and therapy for the first three years through Early Intervention. It's a fantastic program that the state runs and we have been lucky enough to get a new person as our rep. She's very responsive and eager to learn how the system works. However, they do not pay for hearing aid batteries so if you see any coupons for hearing aid batteries in your local paper can you please send them to us? Thanks!

Charlotte's been doing much better with her O2. I've been able to wean her down to 1/16th a couple of times and she's responding much better. I'm predicting that she'll be off the O2 in 3 wks. Brian thinks I'm being a little overly optimistic and he's banking on 4-5 wks.

Believe it or not, Charlotte has no doctor appts this week! Her nurse will come tomorrow and the PT is coming on Friday, but we don't have to leave the house except to go for walks. Sounds like a good week to me.