Acceptance

I don't know when it will fully hit, but I have come to the realization that Seth will not hear normally on his own. We went to Walter Reed to get another ABR done to see where Seth's hearing levels may be and to see which of the past results it would favor. He is still measuring at the severe to profound hearing levels. And as I sit back and reflect on Seth and his speech, yes, he is probably way further behind than those his age, and yes, he doesn't say as much as other's his age. So, we again were presented with the option of Cochlear Implants. We will talk to a specialist in November. She will send us to another specialist who will review what Seth can hear, and advise us what options we have for Seth. If we went with Cochlear Implants, I hate the thought of taking away any natural hearing he does have. But then again, even if it doesn't have a very favorable outcome, what's the worse that could happen? We learn sign language? That's not bad at all! In fact, I'm sure we'll start learning to sign before we do any of this.

A few months ago we had a stake meeting and during the opening song I turned to my left and noticed the whole front section was signing the opening song! (We have a deaf branch in our stake.) It brought tears to my eyes to see it, but not tears of sadness. It's hard to explain what it was, but perhaps it's only the beginning. So, get your copy of Signing Time and let's begin!