"He is your son, not your science experiment!"

Tonight we did a little experiment to see what Logan is hearing with just his right processor vs. his left.
You'll notice that with his original one on he has no problem listening and identifying what is being said, without any visual ques.
However, with his new one on he has trouble staying focused and listening and needs visual ques to be able to repeat the words. He usually just guesses as to what is being said.
My husband joked with me and said, "He is your son, not your science experiment!"

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Ughhh!

What a frustrating week! Logan has not been too happy with his new "ear". He is trying so hard to understand what is going on and is still having trouble comprehending everything. He actually asked for his "Spider-Man Ear" today (his first implant). He said he wanted to "switch". I tried to explain to him that we had to wait a few more days to help his "Bat-Man ear" work better, I couldn't tell how he felt about that. He has been slightly irritable and emotional this week and has been fighting with his brothers (more than normal). He will walk by the blinds, rub his head on the couch and shake his head so that the processor "accidentally" falls off and he'll then say "whoopsie" and look at me like "oh well". I feel terrible that this is so rough for him-- although each day has gotten better. I don't want this to be a bad experience for fear that he'll never like the new "ear".

We made a calendar and marked the day when he could wear both of his implants. He counted the days from now until then and gave me a thumbs up!

I have been trying to be patient as well. I have come accustom to having him hear my voice and respond, so it's been frustrating to have to tap him to get his attention, or run after him when we are crossing the street. And the worst...losing him in a store today and knowing that he can't hear me call his name or even answer a stranger when they try to help him. Ughhh!

He has been focusing so much on lip reading. We have been working so hard to teach him to not do that for the past year, but I have not discouraged it these past few days because, again, I want to make this as easy as possible for him.

Today he was able to repeat the ling sounds, which he wasn't able to do the last few days, so we're getting there. I just hope Logan can be patient.

Logan's new "Bat-Man" ear is up and running!

Today was Logan's activation day for his second implant. It, of course, wasn't as dramatic as turning on the first one, but it was still a big day for us. Everything looks great and the surgery was a success, but Logan isn't too keen on this new ear. He will wear just the new ear for about two weeks to get his brain to start relying on that side as well as the right. The problem we run into is that with only his new implant on, it's like starting over from the beginning--meaning he can't process sounds or language quite yet--which is very frustrating for him. He has adapted very well to hearing the sounds and voices around him, so when he was not able to quite understand the sounds that were going in, he became upset. He told us that he didn't want to wear the new ear because it was "too loud". The audiologist told us that the volume was at a comfort level, but that was just Logan's way of trying to express that he couldn't make out what he was, or wasn't, hearing. We were talking to him, asking him questions and he had a sad, confused look on his face as if he were slightly scared and nervous that he had lost the understanding he once had. Without an implant on, he knows that he doesn't get any sound, so I think it confused him that even with an implant on, he wasn't registering the sounds.
We brought the pack of Bat-Man stickers with us to the appointment and put the stickers on right away. He now has a "Spider-Man ear" and his new, "Bat-Man ear", he now has double the super hero power!
We had to coax him a little to keep it on the rest of the night, but we know things will get better. We are eager to see what this next year has in store for Logan!


It was a little surreal for me to see him with both implants on...

mapping (programming) the new implant...

Not a happy camper...

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Ready to get back to life!

Logan is recovering nicely. Kids are so much more than resilient than we are! He was eager to remove the bandages and even got up in the middle of the night, on day two, to throw the ace wrap in the garbage. When I asked him why he took it off he told me that Dad said he could take it off when he woke up. Dad was right, only we expected his wake up time to be about 8 am, not 2 am!
He stopped needing his medication earlier than expected and has been begging to go back to school. He will continue on the antibiotics to keep him infection free (from the mucous issue).
His activation day is on January 5th. We are eager to see the results once we get this second one up and running. Thanks again for all your well wishes. I look forward to one day, Logan understanding how loved he really is.

We were slightly shocked that the incision went up into his hairline, we were told it would be completly behind his ear, like his first one. Hopefully his hair will cover it better when it grows out.

Logan's incision began opening up, so "Dr. Dad" shaved his head a bit so he could apply some butterfly closures...

I also thought I'd attach these fun pictures of our visit with Santa this weekend...

Do you hear what I hear?...

Yesterday, Logan's world changed. He is hearing! We went in this morning to have his CI turned on. They first, hooked the device up to a computer to activate it and he was just hearing clicks and beeps. It was a great experience to see his little eyebrows raise when that first little bit of sound entered in. Once the audiologist turned it on she told us to go ahead and speak. I was slightly emotional and motioned to Jake to go first. He called Logan's name and his head turned towards Jake. After a while he began to ignore the noise and our voices. To Logan, it was no big deal and he just continued on playing with his puzzle. What?! That was it? Just a simple turn of the head? What about jumping up & down with excitement, asking for more sound, running into my arms? Well, I guess he is only 2 1/2, and actually, all that noise is probably not as pleasant as you might think.
So, he kept the implant on until about 2:00 (only because we were consistently bribing him to do so). He was playing in his room when I went in to check on him and noticed that he was not wearing it. I gave him a look and he signed, "Where? Where? I don't know." He was obviously guilty. So after 20 minutes of searching the playroom, I found it hidden under his mattress in his bedroom! He signed that he was all done with it and didn't like his new ear. I started to cry and left the room. He didn't like it? He didn't want to hear all these wonderful sounds? It broke my heart. My husband had to remind me that this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint and that it's okay to take it slow. I want so much for him to say "Mommy" that I guess I may be pushing him too much. All in all it was a good day. This device is pretty complex for such a little guy, but I'm sure he'll adjust. He watched a movie today and started dancing when he heard the music...loved it! Sorry for all the video, it's a lot of us yelling Logan's name and him turning his head:) )
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Logan's activation day