Let's Fill the Van!: May 2012

Friday, May 25, 2012

Fingers and toes and smiles, oh my!!!!!

Remember my friend Catherine, from this post http://letsfillthevan.blogspot.com/2011/10/q-2-i-am-getting-visitor-and-she-could.html

Francesca just had another hand surgery. The results are amazing. You can read Catherine's full blog post here http://wronginalltherightways-travcat.blogspot.com/2012/05/dressing.html?showComment=1337999718126#c5913361877229135215

These are Francesca's hands before her first surgery.

And here they are after surgeries ...

Amazing!!!!!!! Thank you to all of you that helped her get the surgeries started.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Prayers of praise and a request

Guess who went to the cardiologist and got the ALL CLEAR!!

This little dollie, right here!!!!!

Yay!!!

She had "a long cardiac history" from the orphanage. At her first appointment in the U.S., they only found a small PDA. That small PDA has closed and she is released from cardiology. Praise the Lord for His healing hand and two less ology appointments for this mama to manage a year!

Our sweet little Hope will be having a frenulectomy this week. Would you pray for her? It is not a huge, deal or huge surgery. Grace and Faith have both had the prodedure and they did great with it and Noah will have to have his done too. It is funny that every one of our biological kids have tied tongues. A paternal and maternal grandparent both had tied tongues ... anyway ... I know Hopie will do great too, but this mama covets your prayers anyway.

This is the most precious video, be sure to watch it!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Cochlear Implant Q & A 2

How well will he be able to hear with the implant?

We do not know the answer to this question. Hearing with a CI is a learning process. After he has been implanted for about a year, we will know what his level of hearing is. He will go through many mapping sessions that will help his brain learn to hear and to process sounds.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

HELP!!! Searching for Gerber Ready Sip Lids

Greber used to make these really cool lids called Ready Sip Lids.

They fit perfectly on a Pediasure or Ready Made Formula Bottle.

I used to have a stash. Over the years that stash has dwindled. I had two "good ones" left. On Friday night, there was some confusion and my last two got thrown away .... boo hoo hoo ...

These were really nice because I could just throw Pediasure and formula bottles in the bag with these tops and go. It also made the bottle spill & drip proof.

It is a very small thing, but when six of nine children need a diaper bag packed, it was a luxury :)

They are perfect for when a child is out growing drinking from a bottle.

My sister had one stashed at her apartment. Thank goodness, once again, for Aunt Sissy!!!!!

These are not the same as the Gerber Water Bottle Lid that is currently in production - the Ready Sip Lids have a wide neck.

So, if you have a Gerber Ready Sip Lid that you no longer need, I would love to take it off your hand. I will gladly pay for the top and the shipping.

Friday, May 18, 2012

2 Birthday Celebrations!!!!

Well, I am f i n a l l y ... posting Seth and Gloria's Birthday Party pictures.

The gifts!

The Food!

The Family!

The Cake!

The Personal Cake!

The Cupcake! and The Icing Thief!

The Yummies!

The Mess!

The Stand!

The Sit!

The Unwrap!

The SAMMO!!!!!

The Dad and Sethster!

The Bib!!!

The Books!

The Gift!

The Reader!!!

The Music Station!

The end!

Nissan NV - 12 Passenger Van

We have long been Nissan lovers.

We have owned two Altima's and a Mercury Villager - which was the same as the Nissan Quest. Our minivan was a rock ...

Nissan has an awesome new passenger van ...... 12 PASSENGER VAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't mean to covet, but boy-oh-boy this is sweet!!! All the seats have headrests ... this is HUGE!!! Airbags galore!!!

Can you see me driving it?

It would add a certain element of cool that our current van lacks!

I wonder if Nissan would like to make a donation to a worthy cause?

http://www.nissancommercialvehicles.com/build/model/NV+Passenger

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Cochlear Implant Q & A

How is Seth's hearing now?

In November, Seth had an Auditory Brainstem Response test, also known as an ABR. His results showed no response at 105 decibles, which was the limit on the testing equipment. It is likely that his hearing loss is more profound than 105 decibels. We were told if he was standing beside a jet plane, he would not hear it. You can see in the audiogram below, a jet it plotted at about 120 decibels.

His hearing loss is bilateral, meaning both ears. He is wearing bilateral, in the ear, hearing aids. His testing, with hearing aids, shows reaction to sound at 80-90 decibels. This is still considered prodound deafness.

At what point do you make the decision to go with an implant rather than hearing aids.
Since, Seth's degree of deafness is considered profound, even with high powered hearing aids, cochlear implants become an option to help him hear.

How invasive will the procedure be, what about recovery?
This answer is taken from our surgeons website.

The procedure is an outpatient surgery that takes about an hour and a half. It is performed under general anesthesia. The surgery is performed through an incision behind the ear. The surgery consists of removing part of the mastoid bone and placing the cochlear implant.

Will the implant last his entire life, can it be upgraded without replacement?
Likely, the implant will need to be replaced at some point. No one knows for sure. CI in children were started in the late 80's. Some of those children are now having replacement CIs. Yes, they are designed to allow upgrades. They are also designed for easy removal of the magnet if there is a need for the child to have an MRI.

How will it affect any hearing that he has now, like when you wear glasses your natural eyesight gets a little worse as you depend on the lenses.
Typically, any hearing the child has will be lost from the implant. Seth will only have one ear implanted to start.

For a brief explination, this video talks a bit about the procedure and highlights Seth's surgeon.

Thanks for answering any of these questions, I'm really interested in learning more.
You are welcome and thanks for asking!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Cochlear Implant Selections and Q&A Prep

Last week, we selected Seth's cochlear implant devices.

We have chosen to go with Advanced Bionics .... that kinda makes me giggle .. my bionic boy!!!!!

They have what we believe to be a really great implant and kid friendly processor.

The implant is called the HiRes90K™.

http://www.advancedbionics.com/com/en/products/hires_90k_implant.html

We selected the Neptune™ processor. We liked this device because it is waterproof, has a good impact resistance rating and has many wearing option. The controls are removable, so there is no way for the setting to be changed without it happening purposefully.

http://www.advancedbionics.com/com/en/Neptune/freestyle_design.html

We were able to select many wearing options. We selected the arm band, a lanyard, and a harness. It also comes with a pouch to put the processor in. The pouch can be used in conjunction with all three wearing options selected above. There is also a clip, that can easily clip to the back of his shirt.

http://www.advancedbionics.com/com/en/Neptune/freestyle_design.html

We got to pick fun colors in some of the equipment, such as ... Ocean Blue and Sand Castle. Other not so fun colors included; Black, White and Dark Sienna Metallic.

Once he is implanted and his mapping is being done, we are going to go with the ClearVoice™ sound processing choice. Which helps you hear speech better. We want to focus on Seth understanding speech.

http://www.advancedbionics.com/com/en/products/sound_processing/clearvoice.html

There is also an option for a FM Device that would take my voice "directly" to Seth's ear. It is normally used by a public school teacher in a classroom. We will be looking at this option down the road as Seth progresses with the implant.

AB’s iConnect^TM accessory provides a cable-free connection to the FM systems most commonly used in schools, such as Phonak's Dynamic FM. Designed to easily snap into place, it won’t fall off the ear or interfere with head movements.

With the iConnect, your child can listen comfortably and naturally, concentrating on the important lessons being taught in the classroom instead of fussing with cables or wires or continually repositioning their equipment.

Q & A Time ....

Do you have questions about Seth's upcoming cochlear implant? If so, please leave a comment and I will address them (to the best of my non-bionic ability -hehe) in a future post

Chronicling Kindergarten

I cannot believe my little Faith will be starting Kindergarten. I am going to chronicle her kindy year here.

We started her first project yesterday; a My Father's World Remembrance Quilt. We made a quilt for each of the big kids in their kindy year rather than making the badges that My Father's World recommends. In each unit, a letter, an object and a biblical concept is taught. For example, "S" is the Sun with the biblical concept of Jesus is the light of the world.

The green fabric is for the front of the quilt, the paisley fabric is the back of the quilt and the ribbon will make the squares --- yep, it is a cheater quilt. :)

... And just for fun and because I love the so much, here are the big kids quilts.

Joy's Quilt

Gracie's Quilt

Bub's Quilt

Thursday, May 10, 2012

cochlear implant HELP

http://cochlearimplanthelp.com/

God bless!
Jen

Sent from my iPhone

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

365 day 130

Gracie reads to Seth. He thinks he is Mork. Leave a comment if you know who Mork is :)

365 day 129

Mega mug!!!!