I think we're ready!

Last week we went to Build-A Bear to let Logan build a "surgery buddy" for the big day tomorrow. He chose a green alligator and dressed him in a Batman shirt. He named him, Batman-Gator! We also purchased a set of scrubs for the Gator to help in preparation for Gator to "go to the doctor and get a second ear."

We practicing prepping Gator for surgery by taking his blood pressure, listening to his heart and taking his temperature. The Gator would put on the oxygen mask and take a nap. We would then wrap his head in a bandage and when he woke up he would receive some juice and a small surprise. We have been practicing all week in hopes that Logan will be as calm and prepared as he was last year. It's almost midnight, we go in a 6 am...I better try to get some shut eye!

Quick Note: Logan has been sick for the last 5 days, so we are crossing our fingers that the surgery can still go forward.


Bringing the Gator to life...


Giving him his first bath...


All dressed up...
In his "doctor clothes"...

Prepping him for surgery...

Practicing wearing the mask,taking a nap and wrapping his head with a bandage on...

Good night...

My Busy Day...

I had speech therapy at 8 am with Miss Brittany...

I had my Thanksgiving celebration at school at 11 am...

I took a quick snooze in the car at 12 pm...

I met up with dad for my ENT pre-op appointment at 12:30 pm...

Then we were home for about 20 minutes--long enough to do my "stars"...

We were then off to another appointment for my pre-op with anesthesia at 3:30 pm...

And finally, a reward for all my patience and good behavior today...

I should probably explain the Mickey Mouse countdown above...

I received a phone call form the surgeon's office 2 days ago saying that they had a cancellation and that Logan was scheduled to have his surgery done THIS Tuesday, Nov. 25. I was a thrilled that they got us in so fast, I was nervous that we hadn't had time to prepare Logan for his visit to the hospital, I was emotionally not ready for it to happen so quickly and then....I was disappointed that November 25 would not work for us. We are planning on going to Orlando (and Disney World) over Thanksgiving break. The boys would be crushed if we changed plans and since they had another date that was also soon, we took that one instead.

DECEMBER 9, 2008!

Here we go again...

Prayers Answered!

The only thing that has been standing in our way of the second CI (as far as we know), was getting insurance to pay for it. My husband is a (non-paid) resident at Univ. of Florida and I am a stay at home mom--therefore, the kids and I are on Medicaid with a second type of insurance, CMS (children's medical services, a insurance for disabled children).

Medicaid does not pay for a second CI and we were told by doctors and audiologists that they had never heard of CMS paying for a second one and to not get my hopes up. Also, our chances were lower than normal especially with the economy being in such bad shape. My husband did not want that to stop us from doing this for our little boy and said that we would take (more) loans out if needed.

We are a family who live our lives based around our faith. All of our major decisions that we have had to make regarding Logan have not come with out much prayer and faith. This decision was no different. When my husband graduated UCLA dental school, we had a choice to make about where he would do his two year endodontic residency. We could stay at UCLA, which was financially a better decision, or go to Florida, which would put a real strain on us financially. Neither of us had been to Florida, we didn't have any family or friends near there and didn't know much about the city. We tried to ignore the feeling that we should make the move to Florida, it was a scary, unknown adventure. After much thought and prayer, we felt that there was something in the small town of Gainesville that was drawing us there, possibly getting Logan's second ear done, since UCLA was denying us one there.

On Sunday, my husband and I decided to fast for the purpose of hoping that CMS would cover the $80,000-ish upcoming surgery.

I was surprised to hear from CMS so quickly today, I wasn't expecting a call for another week or so. Well, the answer brought me to tears...in a good way. They were going to cover the surgery! I was shocked and had to ask again if they were aware that this was CI # 2, because I heard that they don't cover that normally. The woman chucked and assured me that CMS knew what they were approving! I am still a bit skeptical since this has all happened so quickly and easily, we'll keep our fingers crossed!

I know that my Heavenly Father is mindful of us and am grateful that prayers are answered!

No CT Scan needed!

The ENT's office got a hold of Logan's CT scan from last year (which I have been trying to get my hands on for weeks) so a new one isn't needed! Yeah!

I can't sleep...

I can't sleep...I'm extremely nervous for Logan's surgery in the morning. I have vacuumed 6 six times today, washed the knives by hand twice, organized the towel closet and folded the dirty clothes in the hamper (those are just the odd things that were done) all to keep me busy today. I have packed and re-packed his hospital bag and am afraid that I will forget something important, like his favorite car or toy dinosaur. Why am I freaking out? What a dummy I am. Jake is no better, he is in the front room switching the TV back and forth between music videos on VH1 and a soccer game commentated in Spanish. It is now 2 am and I am going to try get some shut eye before we have to leave for the hospital at 7 :15 am. Thanks for all your sweet comments and prayers. It always amazes me what great friends we have. I love you all. I will post again after the big day...

THREE MORE DAYS!!

Only three more days until Logan's life-changing surgery. We are excited, but extremely nervous. I've been doing some more research on the cochlear implants and found these simulations on what speech sounds like to an implanted person. It's kind of interesting!

click on www.pbs.org/saf/1205/features/Interactive/channel22.htm and click on listen to 22 channels.

While listening to this one, www.hei.org/research/aip/decrease_channels.mp3 , you'll first hear the phrase as a normal hearing person hears it, then the second one is at 22 channels-what Logan will hear. The phrase will repeat at 18 channels, 12 channels, and so forth.

Logan's CT Scan

One of the steps needed before getting Logan's surgery done is a CT scan. We had it done on Thursday and he did great. They had to sedate him to do the procedure, so he couldn't eat anything after 6am. I woke him up at 5:30 and let him eat a big pancake and eggs breakfast. He was so tired, that he could barely lift the fork, but I didn't want him to have to go all night and day without eating. After the test, he was groggy after waking up, but perked right up when the nurse offered him a lollipop. He became a little loopy as we walked to the car, it was quite entertaining!!