Happy 11th Hearing Birthday 🥳

 Happy 11th *hearing* birthday to Brody’s cochlear implants (yesterday)! 🥳 He was implanted when he was 15 months old. 

We are incredibly thankful every day for 11 years of hearing made possible by amazing technology. People often ask why we chose to get him implanted, and while many may question that choice, it was actually an easy decision for us as his parents. We wanted to give him *choices*—the chance to communicate through listening and spoken language. When he was younger, we also signed with him, but he quickly preferred spoken language, even telling us “no hands” or “just say it.” 

At 10, he became interested in ASL again—why? Because he’s a deaf kid and didn’t want me interpreting for him when talking to other deaf individuals. And I can totally respect that! It’s his choice and a skill he’s learning and improving on every day. Some people don’t realize, but without his cochlear implants on, Brody is profoundly deaf meaning he would (maybe) hear a jet next to him but that gets complicated with is he feeling the vibrations or hearing the sound. 

Happy birthday to Brody’s ears! 🎉

Skate Party

 🛼 Skate party with the library tonight! Most kids are excited! Maybe a little nervous. Skating is hard for all kids (and parents…ow my back and shoulders)! Throw in some vision loss, hearing loss, and no vestibular system, it’s very hard. Turn off the lights, add lasers, and loud music…near impossible. Top all of that with major anxiety for not knowing if someone is skating too close, if there’s a shorter kid in front of you, not knowing where mom went if you let go for a second, and the list goes on and on  

I’m always amazed at Brody’s determination to try new things when all the odds are thrown against him. It makes me sad for him that things are hard. I know he’d love to be out there with the other boys, skating backwards and trying to do tricks (even if many weren’t succeeding). Last time we skated for a friends birthday, it lasted 5 minutes and there were LOTS of tears. This time we were there about 30 minutes (improvement 💪🏼) and there were only some frustration tears. He may have only made it around a handful of times before throwing in the towel, but he tried and that makes my mama heart happy! 🥰

Favorite Amazon Items

Over the last 12 years, new items have come about that have made life with Brody’s hearing and vision loss easier…especially when traveling! Here are some of our favorites that are Prime Deals as well. 

Desk organizer for extra pieces and parts 

Label maker for desk organizer 

Best extension cord for travel

Cord protector 

Helps keep hearing aids and cochlear implants on ears

Skull cap (we use one roller coasters)

Nammu swim cap

Pilot caps for hearing aid/implant retention 

What else have you found that is helpful!

Visit with Dr. Mike

It’s always so neat for me to watch Brody at audiology appointments. A big part of my job teaching the 3 year olds is working on audiology booth work. We work on the task of pointing to named pictures, turning to sound, or games such as putting in a peg when they hear the sound. I honestly didn’t know much after that with kids and audiology until I got to experience all the next steps with Brody. 

Brody now gets to look at a chart of 1-10. 1 being really quiet and 10 being really loud. He can tell Dr. Mike what each tone sounds like to him so he can program the cochlear implant maps correctly. He’s super consistent with it too. Dr. Mike would try to trick him today by going back to certain frequencies and Brody would stay consistent with his choices. An 8 was the most comfortable and where we wanted him. 

We are so thankful for all of our @cincychildrens ENT and Audiology members of Brody’s team! 

After every visit, Brody only wants to go to the cafeteria to get some @larosaspizzeria. Not from the actual restaurants because isn’t as cool of a setting 😂 

All about Usher Syndrome

Brody, age 9, talks about the hearing loss side of Usher Syndrome. 

Kentucky All-Star

Brody and I had the best day getting to meet with Governor Andy Beshear for the signing of the Usher Syndrome Awareness Day proclamation in the state of Kentucky. 

Governor Beshear spent time talking with Brody about Usher Syndrome and the different facts that are unique to Brody. Our goal for Brody has always been that he will advocate for himself. Today he did just that! I was so proud of how much he knew about Ushers already! 

Brody got a private tour to see the room where the pressers happen each day. 

He also named Brody a Team Kentucky All Star and announced it on his video today! 

Thank you to everyone that made today happen! 

Gifted and Talented

We are so proud of Brody! He has qualified for 4 areas in gifted and talented (math, reading, art-intellectual ability and creativity) for this upcoming school year. 

Academics has always been his strong point. He taught himself to read at 3 years old by putting the sounds together that he was learning at preschool and in speech therapy. He stays up to read late into the night to the point I’ve had to take away his books to get him to go to sleep. 

When we first learned of his hearing loss, we questioned all of his abilities. Would he be able to learn? Would he be able to make friends? Would he graduate? Would he get a job? Of course we knew he would be able to do all of those things and more, but as a new parent with so many questions, we were scared of the future. Not anymore. We’re so proud of his accomplishments at just 9 years old. 

Here’s to a future of working for NASA (and having a DJ gig on the side)! Or maybe Google since he saw what their facilities look like. 😂