On to another building down the street for x-rays of her mouth. She was completely freaked out by the machine, the techs and everything else….so I held her while they did the panoramic x-ray.
Back to the Main hospital to wait for more appointments. They put us in an examining room and for the next 4 hours doctors of all sorts of medical professionals came and went. Some of the people we saw included a plastic surgeon, an orthodontal surgeon {who came to meet with us several times}, a pediatrician, a geneticist, an ENT, the audiologist again, even a team of surgeons.
Because of prayer {no doubt} they were able to get us in for the missed {because the clinic was behind} appointment with the audiologist. That was my favorite part of the day.
I had wondered how they would test her hearing when she understands very little English. So cool!! The audiologist {Jennifer} was able to play games with Jubilee and eventually test her hearing. They had guessed, because of her ear deformities that she most likely has some hearing loss. As it turns out Jubilee has a moderate to severe loss in her left ear {which is the most deformed} and moderate loss in her right ear. Jennifer gave us a huge book of information, including a chart that shows what decibals, etc., she is able to hear {most likely}.
The audible sounds that are associated with words she cannot hear. Jubilee can most likely hear things like our piano playing, the vacuum, a rock band, an airplane, etc. It was very sobering. It also made me feel so protective of this little treasure who has not been able to hear most things, for her 8 years of life. Our hearts grieve for her hearing loss.
Jennifer gave us a sign language book with simple signs and simple words. We have already learned some and have been using them. We will be heading back to Denver Children’s for further hearing tests. First though, they think it would be really wise to get tubes put in her ears, which might help some. So we will be looking into what type of specialists they have in our city.
Jennifer had hoped to be able to find a loaner pair of hearing aids {more like a headband}, but she was unable to locate one for us before we left. They will be holding a pair for us when a loaner comes back in.
The surgeons also want her to have oral surgery asap. Her mouth is an absolute disaster, and many of her teeth are just not in her mouth, nor in her gums. The orthodontist kept shaking his head and wondering what teeth she even had. So we will be looking into who we can find in our city, otherwise we will be going back to Denver for the oral and ear tube surgery.
Overall, it was a really good visit. Jubilee did well. Not only did it enable us to know just how urgent her needs are, it also gave us a game plan. We do not have dental insurance, so that will be rather interesting. Hearing aids are also about $1,800.00 EACH. It will be fun to see how the Lord provides, and no doubt you will hear the stories as well. =)
Soon we will meet with a genetics specialist in our city. They are wondering if Jubilee has a syndrome and if so, which one? There are some other tests we will have to have done in the future to help diagnose other problems. We will work to learn sign language as a family, in the meantime. Our Abigail texted me and said, “Well I have always wanted to know sign language.” Me too, Ab, me too.
As for Isaiah….we saw Dr. Hatch up in Greeley yesterday. That doc is such a sweet man and his staff –they’re the best! Dr. Hatch found that Isaiah’s legs have “lost some”
and so we have to be more aggressive with his therapy, doing it at least 5 times a day. Otherwise he is facing more surgery soon, so we will be praying like crazy and working even harder!
Oh! Praying for your sweet family! So thankful that God knew that you were supposed to form this beautiful family and that you are not only Jubilee's parents, but warriors for her as well….
Bless her heart! I'm glad you were able to meet with so many doctors at the same to come up with a plan. The Pioneer Woman had a deck of sign language cards in her homeschooling post today that she got from Staples for about $3. They looked like a great start. There are some websites that you can hear and see the signing in videos.
Sending prayers your way as you walk this challenging path with your kiddos. What a blessing that sweet Jubilee will be cared for so well and given every opportunity to live this life to the fullest – all to the glory of God! I'll be praying for an extra measure of God's grace as you help her navigate these waters. My little boys and I have all enjoyed "Signing Times" dvd's – we borrowed them from our local library. Can't wait to see how God moves mountains and causes mouths to drop open in awe at Jubilee's (and Isaiah, too) progress.
Answers to Jubilee's health needs will equip you to become an even better mother for her. Go for the sign language all the way! I have learned it and never once regretted it. The other children will probably pick it up quickly. It is a beautiful language and one that will enable you to tell her about Jesus – along with your showing.
I have.a son who has hearing loss and in our state we have a program for kids who need hearing aids. If you want to chat about hearing loss feel free to email me at Fargonation@gmail.com
Does your state have a program called Children's Rehab Services. They have helped us out with our sons cl/cp surgeries and will be helping us with his dental issues. I know other states have different programs but they have helped us with surgeries, speech, hearing and dental. You might already know what your state offers, just trying to help. I love your blog and your heart for adoption.
Sorry to hear about Jubilee's hearing loss and that Isaiah will need to do therapy 5 times a day…the poor little darlings. I will be praying!
Praying for Jubilee and Isaiah! I just wanted to say I feel a connection with you and Jubilee because we are about to go get our daughter from Korea who is deaf. So we will be doing a lot of audiologists, hearing and speech therapy, and maybe sign language also! I just love your family.
Well, maybe you can teach us all a little sign language? Many, many prayers. Praise God He is bigger!
So glad to hear Jubilee will be getting the help she needs…and it will be fun to see how God provides for it all. I used to be an interpreter for the deaf…it is a beautiful language and kids pick it up quickly. Our youngest grandson knew some words in sign way before he could talk.. You will be in our thoughts and prayers..for Isaiah too…
I've been waiting and praying for updates. Now, you have answers and a game plan. Please know that you will continue to have prayers for your sweet little girl from our house in MI.
The Lord will provide and I will enjoy seeing him at work!! Thank you Jesus!!
Hoping and praying some of it can be done in your town!
I have always been interested in sign language, too. That is how we first communicated to Anna- it worked incredible well! Her hearing os okay though! God sure keeps our lives interesting! Now you all will be learning sign language- it would be a great class for your homeschool!!
Glad to hear that you are back home safely and have a game plan for some of Jubliee's needs. Our Philip also has a hearing loss and has tubes. It has improved his hearing greatly, so much so that we could tell when they fell out by his speech and what he wasn't hearing. Praying they help Jubilee.
Praying for Isaiah's legs as well.
Hugs,
Janet and gang
Wow, that is a lot of information to digest in one day. As you probably already know our China treasure is deaf and we have been learning sign language with her. We found a great website that helps us with signs that we don't know. It shows a video of the sign which is so helpful to me. Check out http://www.signingsavvy.com. We also love the Signing Time (Signing Time with Alex and Leah) DVDs. This DVDs would be great for teaching the little ones and big ones! Hang in there. We will be praying for all of you.
Hugs,
Robin
Miss Jubilee…ah, help is on the way! It won't be long now and you will finally get to "talk" with that little girl! http://www.aslpro.com has all kinds of signs. It is for adults so it includes adult signs as well-just a heads up. They also have a "religious" section so you don't have to spell every name in the Bible but can sign it.
I did my undergrad in deaf ed. but taught in other areas of special education. Pray light bulbs start going off for the little darling and that her brothers and sisters enjoy a new language with their sister!
I can't help but think of the impact that this little girl will have on one of her siblings- wonder how God will use this as a ministry in their lives?
WOW–lots of dr. visits for a little girl. How wonderful, though, that they just put you in a room and all the docs came to you! It is so nice to have a game plan, even if it's a long road ahead at least you know the road now. Praying for you to find the treatment that she'll need closer to home.
I'm so glad you guys are able to start getting answers. What a relief to know where you can begin this journey. I'm also glad you discovered what you did about her hearing. Definitely helps to explain a lot. I know a little sign language but I'm looking forward to learning more! Happy you're home safe. Praying for a big bus to take you around! 🙂
Goodness, that is a lot to absorb, isn't it? Sweet Jubilee, I'm so thankful that she now has all of you to see her through the journey ahead. I think signing will certainly help with everyone's frustration level. We began signing immediately with Teddi in China–due to the language barrier, and her open palate– which caused most of what she was learning to say, to still be unrecognizable. Just the basics, like eat, drink, more, please, thank you, bath, get dressed, night night, mama, daddy, I love you–will make such a huge difference.
Praying for Jubilee and for all of you as you learn how to best help your sweet girl. Praying too for an oral surgeon and an ENT close to home. And for smiling Isaiah, that his little legs would respond positively to the increased therapy–and for the time and energy needed for all involved in his therapy!
Glad you are home. Glad Uncle Mark is glad that you are home. Glad too, that you observed the "ice cream" law while road tripping. Very wise.
Love you guys~
Tina
Wow, you've got a ton on your plate. I'll be praying the Lord meets ALL of your needs (which I know He will!)
Linny,
I will be praying! My little girl, also born cleft-affected, initially tested as moderate hearing loss. This was due to the constant fluid behind her ear drums and likely chronic infections. She was 3.5 yrs old when we came home. Two months after adoption, we had tubes placed in her ears and wow! it was like a whole world suddenly opened up to her. She still has significant speech delays because for 3.5 yrs she couldn't hear properly. But she made great strides and her hearing, though not perfect, has tested within the normal-mild range of loss.
She's about to get her second set of tubes, a longer lasting set we hope (the first came out recently). We have noticed a bit of "backsliding" in her hearing ability and speech. The tubes are very necessary for her. I really think you will see an improvement with Jubilee. But how fun is it that you all are going to learn some sign language?
Will be praying for God's provision with medical providers close to home for you also.
Regarding sign language, check out youtube for signed songs. I'm absolutely in love with the ones from AllyBallyBabe!! It's fun to try to recognize some of the signs (and there's often "subtitles" for them).
Continued prayers for your sweet treasures and for you guys. I'm so glad you updated us as to how things went. Hugs and love
So glad you are getting answers and a game plan. I can't wait to see how God will provide for Jubilee:-)
Yikes!! 9 people in an 8 passenger vehicle. Not sure how long of a drive it was, but wow it must have been crazy in your vehicle:-)
Glad you are all home safe and sound!
We use "Signing Time" for sign language at our house. They are the best!!!! The videos are 'catchy' and make it really easy to remember!!!
We use the Signing Time videos and they teach the whole family and include fun songs. Did you get any gelato while you were there? My 5 you calls Childrens the "Doctor Mall" except that they all come to you! Isn't that so nice! Glad the visit went well. If there is something I can pick up for you, let me know. I'll be heading down your way in a few weeks.
Thank you for letting us bloggies know- we will be praying!!!!
Our family does signing for home school- did you know only 10% of those who are deaf ever hear about God because they don't really ever "hear" about God. It is fun to do actually. I am NOT an expert, but it is fun!
Linn,
I can personally speak of the knowledge and cutting edge procedures a cranial facial team can provide. We see the team at Seattle Children's Hospital and they have worked wonders for our Isaiah. When he came home he spoke nothing at 3.3 years of age….not even chinese. His palate was so bad he could not speak. He has had 4 surgeries, the last one, a Furlowpalatoplasty to correct his short palate. 2.5 years and still going of speech therapy and all the surgeries has made a huge difference. I too was amazed with how the audiology team can teach these kids how to produce a good hearing test with no language. We are so blessed to live in this country and have access to the medical care we have. My close friend in Seattle has a child who is completely hearing impaired…from China. He wears a head band and does terrific with it. He is missing many components in the inside of his ears. One thought…have you looked into Shriners hospital? Portland has a clinic for cleft and I know somewhere in the country provides services for hearing impaired kids. Most services are provided free of charge regardless of the families income. Anyway…just a thought. I want you to be encouraged now that precious Jubilee is in the hands of a cranial facial team….they are wonderful and amazing, and even after 4 surgeries, my Isaiah looks forward to going to the hospital every time!
Blessings to you!
Julie
Oh Linny~
I will surely be lifting up your family as you seek out the medical and dental help needed for your precious kiddos…and we'll be agreeing with you for all provisions to come forth. God always comes through, and this will be no exception!! <><
Blessings and Hugs,
~ Tanya
Oh I just love your family.
I can't tell you how much I look up to you….and your family.
I love that you don't question whether or not God will provide the funds for Jubilee's medical needs, but rather just KNOW. I know too. 🙂 It will all come together when it needs to. And for a larger vehicle too. 🙂
God Bless You and your sweet, sweet family!
I too always wanted to learn sign language and God provided me with that opportunity. After I married my husband, the school that hired me here in Texas was the school for the region that taught the deaf children. God always meets our desires if we are sincere in asking. You will love sign language. I wish the whole world knew it as in my opinion it truely is universal.
When we learned of our son's vision loss in his right eye I grieved for days. Never mind he has moderate CP, the vision loss is what chokes me up every time! Praying for healing for your girl. If you haven't done so already, connect with Tami at http://www.sixsunflowerseeds.com Her daughter Maddie was adopted two years ago with a similar condition, wears the outer hearing aid band and has various services in school. She is a great connection if you are wanting one, lives in KS, lived in WY and has family in CO so maybe you could even connect at some point! God bless your continued journey to adapting to your new little ones!
Precious Jubliee. Thanks be to God that she is now a daughter! No longer an orphan! She has a mom and dad and many siblings who care for her and pray for her and are totally committed to her. What a gift you have been given in this sweet girl, and what a gift you are to her! Praying for healing for her body…
Blessings,
Sarah
Glad you are home and glad you have some answers. Start stretching Isaiah's feet!!!!
Hi Lin, I am a Speech Pathologist in NJ. I do know that in NJ there are grants and funds that provide assistance with funding hearing aids. Maybe the audiologist can find out about that. I will also do some research and find out exactly what the grant is here in NJ. I know it is very childish, but Baby Einstein video series has a good video that helps teach signs – Words Worth. I am not even sure if you use videos. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. Gaye
So glad they are both OK and you have a "game-plan" (I love that expression BTW!) I'll be praying about Isaiah's therapies and surgery for Jubilee and of course that new van!!!
praying for precious Jubilee. i love her little face. and Isaiah too.
I just found your blog thru another friend of mine. I have two girls that have microtia in one of their ears. We are in the process of adopting an almost 13 year old girl from china who is deaf. I also wear hearing aides. My audiologist had me do a case study on a new hearing aide and when it was done I could purchase it for 1/2 price, also sometimes Shriners can help. Good luck
Signing Times has wonderful DVDs to teach sign language. They were developed by a mom for her deaf daughter – so they are geared toward sign language that children need. We find them at our local libraries (since they are a bit pricey to buy).
awww, what a precious little treasure, this jubilee. wouldn't it be great if her hearing could be restored just a little bit? i'll be praying that the Lord provides just what she needs. and what you need to get her there.
y'all are pretty much precious in His sight… and mine!! blessings to you! (and thanks for the tweets. you don't know how that brings you to my mind to pray for you!!)
Hi Linny,
So glad that you now have some answers for Jubilee. We are praying for you sweet family! The young girl we are in process of adopting is deaf and so our family has been learning ASL together. It has been a lot of fun! We do not have the option of classes in our area but we have found a great website that has been a huge blessing to us. http://www.lifeprint.com/ He even has home school lesson plans! 🙂
Wow, Poor baby. I can't wait to see Jubilee blossom as God peels away each restriction. I have a picture of the people at her orphanage opening up a package pics and notes from you and being taken back (gasping!) by her transformation! We will be praying!! Sheri
WOW, a lot of information to process, but you are the right family to process it!
Glad you're back and have a game plan!
Do you have Signing Times videos? They are soooo fun and so easy to learn signing.
I'm so glad you had some awesome Dr.'s! Don't you just love Children's Hopsitals?
I have no doubt God will proved everything you need for that child!!!
we will praying for your family as well. We are hitting some hard financial bumps as well with our adoption. We have been charging things but are maxed on our credit card and Dave broke 2 teeth and then the brakes went out on our car. Wondering if we can really go any farther. With Love
Jill
http://www.campfunk.blogspot.com
Glad you were able to get some answers yesterday, although they may not be what you wanted to hear. At least now you can start moving forward with Jubilee's health issues.
Our cleft lip/palate daughter had an audiology appointment yesterday too. For some reason her hearing loss in her left year got worse following surgery to repair the hole in her ear, so now we have to go back in 2 months for another audiology appointment. She loves going in the little room and playing games!
I also wanted to suggest you check into your health insurance for the dental work. Because this is related to her cleft issues, I believe it may be covered.
Have you heard about Starkey?
http://www.starkey.com/corporate/about-us/hearing-foundation.jsp
Thank you for sharing all of your precious children with us!
Oh how I love Children's Hospital in Denver and am so glad you got a few answers. My running partner and good friend, Pam, is a specialist at the School for the Deaf and Blind in Colorado Springs. She has over 25 years of experience. I know she'd be happy to talk to you if you want a few things to start on now. She works with the deaf community.
Also, we just got the Signing Time videos for our baby girl. They are so fun to watch and we've learn so many fun signs already. My older two love watching them with Desta!
Blessings on this journey ahead for your family!
Melodie
I just wanted to mention that Shriners Children's Hospitals often treat children who have cleft lip and palate for free, including associated dental issues. Our daughter has other special needs and she came home with major dental issues. We also didn't have dental insurance. We were blessed to find out that all adopted children with special needs in our state qualify for Medicaid not based on family income. A wonderful Christian dental provider in the next town over ended up fixing our daughters teeth at our local hospital under general anesthesia and our entire $10,000 bill was covered. When we first thought about adopting our daughter, we knew dental issues were a possibility but we trusted that God would provide and He did.
Praying that God provides in all areas of Jubilee and Isaiah's needs.
Linny, welcome home and thank you for the update! It's so good to know the cl/cp process since we are just beginning.
Praying for you always!
Love~
Connie
Any thoughts on cochlear implants? Maybe she has too much hearing for those? So glad you have some answers now! We will be praying. : )
I think it is wonderful that you have a game plan and a few answers. God will provide.
A few others have mentioned the Signing Time videos (there are also a few Baby Signing Time which have really fun songs). We use these for our kids simply because they love them. They are expensive so we started by checking them out at the library and then slowly buying some. I think sign language is just beautiful.
We will continue to pray for your family. You all are such wonderful people!
You got an award on my blog.
http://onthesearchforhiddentreasure.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-got-award.html
We also love the Signing Time videos, and I wanted to mention that a lot of local libraries have nice collections of fun sign language videos, or you might be able to convince them to start getting the videos if they don't since they are on the pricey side. Thanks for the update so we know how to pray better.
Last night I typed out a nice long comment and my computer decided to shut down for an update right in the middle so I lost it. I'm going to attempt to remember what I said.
To quote one of my favorite mommy bloggers, "YIPEE JESUS!", in advance for what he's going to do! 😉
It looks like there are some pretty big hurdles in the future, with lots of dr. appts and more surgeries, but I'm so excited to see how God is going to work in these precious lives who are orphans no longer!
Just learning about Jubi's hearing loss is a success. Now that you know it will totally get you on the right track to communicate with her. And sign language is beautiful. I don't know enough to get by conversationally, but I learned enough to sing worship songs. There's just something about signing while singing. It's like whole body communication/communion with God.
an aside: I remember when my friends Todd and Rebekah first started attending our church. We used to watch Todd sign to Rebekah during worship. It was beautiful to watch him sing to her.
Anyway, I'm so excited to see how God will work. I'll be praying.
I bet you just knew I'd have something to say on this, huh? 🙂
First off – THANK YOU JESUS for answers.
And THANK YOU JESUS that both of these miracle kids are in the blessed USA to have access to gameplans.
Bless Mark's heart for grieving about Jubilee's hearing aids. But THANK YOU JESUS for them!
They can be hard to get used to, but I am praying that they will open up a whole new world for your girl and you.
And girlie – you know that I'd love to come out and have some fun with sign language with you guys!
We love "Signing Time" on Youtube. They tend to be the best at using correct sentence structure with signs (not true "ASL" sign language, but signing it so you don't have to RE-LEARN how to speak in the right order).
THANK YOU JESUS for the hearing that Jubilee DOES have. And I am praying that he multiplies it and allows her mind to understand and to communicate.
And praying for Isaiah's legs – that God would build them up to be straight and strong. God bless you!
For really severe dental issues, you may be able to have the work done under anesthesia, and that would be paid for by your medical insurance rather. That shaves a lot off the total cost of the dental work. My cleft-affected daughter's teeth were terribly decayed at 3 yrs old and she had to have crowns put on almost every tooth. I think I had to pay $4000 out of pocket for the work, but a much larger amount was paid by my medical insurance because they put her under to do the work.
Because my brain is on the fritz right now – I forgot to say this the first time around…
While it may be natural for most people to feel so sad that Jubilee may need hearing aids (and naturally so), she has probably lived with this hearing loss her whole life.
Sticking hearing aids on her will be foreign inside of her head – it can be dizzying and weird and TOO LOUD and frightening (who knew refrigerators made all those noises?!?). Finding the right balance (or even the right options – a cochlear implant may definitely be a possibility), takes time and often some frustration. The brain isn't meant to rewire itself for gobs of sound overnight.
Linny – I don't know if I shared this with you before, but I had a jaded audiologist who put my first set of hearing-aids on me when I was 4 years old. He stared in stunned silence as I burst into "Oh Susannah" and "I've Been Working on the Railroad" – because I had missed sound and it was amazing to experience it.
So with that grieving and frustration, I am praying for those AMAZING moments where she discovers the blessing of those things in her ears. I am so happy you are there to experience it with her!
(And by the way, those things don't mix well with toilets, just sayin…)
Much love!
My daughter, Meah's orthodontic care is supposed to be covered by medical insurance because it was due to a birth defect. If I were you, I would check with your medical insurance, because even though it is dental or orthodontic care, it relates to a medical issue. Meah's Bone Anchored Hearing Aide was also paid for by insurance. Good Luck!
I've been patiently waiting and praying to hear how Jubilee's team visit went! Definately go for the tubes as quickly as you can. It is a simple outpatient surgery. Make sure to ask the specialist to use the larger more permanent tubes. That will save you possibly needing to replace them every 6 months to a year. Xia just lost one of her permanents that has been in since she was 20 months old and she only lost that because of having ear wax removed by the ENT. Also the ENT will be able to tell you if she has a huge amount of wax in there too that you will want to keep cleared out (very common with Asian kids). We found those to be the trick on Xia's hearing loss. By the next team visit her hearing was back to normal range (YIPEE JESUS)! That's my prayer for Jubilee. "Signing Time" is a great video series for teaching sign language to all of your kids. Ask at your library and just maybe they can get them through interlibrary loan or they might have the funds to order them for you so you can check them out often. I highly recommend them as a fun learning resource.
On the dental and orthodontics and cleft issues, do you have a local Shriner's chapter. We used the Chicago team for Xia's cleft issues and there is no cost at all to families and some local chapters will sponsor your transportation to Chicago also. Also, another avenue you might look into is a local dental school if there is one close to you. They have reduced rates for ortho work sometimes.
I have a few of the signing time videos that my hubby can make a copy of possibly (ours our copies from First Steps set of videos when Xia was 2 so he'll have to see if they will copy from the copy). Send me your address to my email and I will try to get copies to you (bepeters@psci.net).
Sorry this is a book for a comment but so glad to hear that Jubilee had her visit and you can now take each step as it comes her way with the knowledge you need to help her achieve her very best!
Also, thankful for Isaiah's specialist and praying that you can fit all of his therapy/exercise into your busy schedule.
You're like us on the vehicle. We still only have 8 but if we have any extras with us we have to double buckle to get everyone in. You need a 15 passenger van (I'll be praying for you on that one too!) Then you can fill it up with 6 more when the Lord is ready LOL! I keep thinking maybe if I stay with my 8 passenger Expedition I won't keep wanting to look at the SN list. It doesn't seem to be working.
Love and Prayers,
Elisa Peters
There are so many comments I did not want to read them all to find out if someone has already told you about these things. There are childrens DVD's called Signing Time then are GREAT we used some of this with the kids at school. We also used pecs which is a system of pictures to help communicate as well. You could probably ask your local school district if they have anything like that for you to use at home. We used speech and signing along with the pecs. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you would like me to send you some examples!! Praying for you as this new adventure begins!!
Hi Linny – I'm just catching up on your posts! So sorry to find out about Jubilee's hearing loss, but so glad you know now some of what is happening with her medically. I just wanted to mention (as others probably already have) that the "Signing Time" series of videos are GREAT! We have the first two, as our two year old son Daniel doesn't speak much yet. You can get them from the library around here too. Hugs to you and your family!!
Oh precious Jubilee!! What an amazing gift!
When we adopted our oldest daughter from Korea we were told she had a slight hearing loss. We had no idea until almost a year later when we had her hearing tested that she was completely deaf in one ear and severely hard of hearing in the other! Gosh, that explains why she wouldn't come when we called her or she seemed to ignore us. It was like a big lightbulb went on for my husband and me. We spent quite a few days miserable with guilt and grief that we had disciplined her for her "disobedience" when she just wasn't hearing us. Since then she's been diagnosed with several other issues as well. Our precious daughter, the song of our lives, has done more to stretch our minds and hearts than anything else could have. God knew what HE was doing and we praise Him for it.
Praying for your family as you navigate these waters. May you have discernment and wisdom as you process the incredible amounts of information the doctors will be giving you and may God guide each of your steps. His hand is upon sweet Jubilee and we praise Him for bringing her to your family!!
A friend of mine pointed me to your blog today and I'm so glad she did! 🙂 I wanted to reach out to you and let you know that we know what you're going through…really.
My husband, Shad and I brought our daughter, 'Maddie' home from Ukraine two years ago. She was born with bilateral microtia/artresia and at the time, the orphanage director said she could hear everything but whispers…and we believed her. Maddie did a great job of seeming to understand what was going on. She responded appropriately to what was going on around her and seemed to pick up English pretty quickly. Oh, she wasn't speaking it…she was just responding to us. So we figured it was true. Imagine our surprise when we got home and a week later found out she had a moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears!
It was one of our most difficult days, but looking back it was one of the most profound of our lives. We realized we could and we are parenting a special needs child – something we never thought we could handle. And we were doing it! 🙂
A very long story short, the first time Maddie had her bone conduction hearing aid one was absolutely amazing – (I posted the video on my blog if you're interested) and Maddie hasn't looked back since. She is now six years old, in kindergarten and doing great. Language is still a big barrier, but she's speaking (its getting easier to understand) and has even started reading this year. ;>)
I post all of this, not to brag, but to encourage you. The diagnosis of a severe hearing impairment can be scary…but I can't tell you what a blessing this little girl is! 😉
I also wanted to let you know my brother and sister-in-law just brought their second child home from China with this same condition…and they live in Colorad – near Greeley. They know of several resources in your area. My SIL is also a special education teacher in her school district so she knows about the IEP requirements for these kids – she's a great resource.
If you would like more information or would just like to chat let me know. I'd love to help in any way I can. 😉
six sunflower seeds at gmail dot com
I'm a friend of Jennifer Hetrick and I wanted to let you know if you ever need an extra set of hands when you are in Denver, please let me know. Jennifer can give me a character reference.