Thursday, May 29, 2008

Joy and Frustration

Well it seems My little Amelia is growing up and she is expressing her frustration.

Amelia has 2 therapy sessions a week . 1 in home and 1 in Haliburton at 5 counties kids services.

While at her session on Tuesday in Haliburton , Amelia really had no interest in doing much , other than some play , and organizing.. She is so much like her Mom, Everything has to be clean... neat , and always put away in the right spot.. From what I hear she re organized the toy bin at the five counties offices . I would imagine they were very thankful for the time she put in to looking after the toy clutter .

While her AVT tried to do some of her word association exercises, Amelia showed great frustration with all of it. At first when I was told this from my wife , I didn't quite know what to make of it, but my wife told me , this is a good thing, She is really trying to communicate and she gets a little perturbed when using sign because if your not looking right at her, she thinks you are ignoring her. I think we as a family will just try a little harder, and hopefully in time Amelia will also adapt and become more patient as things improve for her .

Thats all for now... I will hopefully pack my bags to head home tomorrow, as long as my auto mechanic gets my car back to me.. Braking down at 5 am is not fun!

Have a great weekend everyone ..

Amelia's Daddy

Friday, May 23, 2008

Growing Up!

Hi everyone,

I have been away all week from my family as per usual , and my wife has filled me in on some of Amelia's great new adventures.

We live in a small community about 2 1/2 hours outside of Toronto, in the woods so to speak. Around our home , the folks use Atv's to get around. My oldest son Ethan who just turned 5 loves to get out and ride on his grandpa's atv or mine when I am there. Well it seems Amelia has now discovered she enjoys riding one her self. My son has grown out of his battery powered one just in time for Amelia to enjoy it . In the past week she has discovered how to use the accelerator pedal and she steers the bike with no problems, She even sticks her tongue out while she rides, just like her brother does. (Video will be coming)

Amelia is adapting well to having her Cokie's put on. No more crying when there powered up , and she makes it pretty much through the whole day with out taking them off. I think her Mom and I have figured out how to use the BTE and to keep it on her with out falling off or getting damaged. Thankfully Amelia's AVT found bra tape, and man does that stuff work well... Just a small strip behind Amelia's ear seems to be working well in keeping the ear piece on.

I guess thats all for now. I have to pack my bags , so I can head home after work and see my kids for the weekend.

Take care all

Amelia's Dad

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Making adjustments... ecckhhh!

Hi everyone,

To my fellow Canadians , happy May 24 , and to all the rest, hope your weekend is going great!

As I am sure most of you know , adjusting to life with a child with Cochlear Implants can be a challenge, but really is there a bigger challenge then to try and adjust the baby worn ear hooks!!! Amelia's Mom , Grandma Howe , and my self are going to great lengths to make these more comfortable for her , however this seems to be a bigger task then imagined. If there is any advice you could give us, it would be a greatly appreciated.

Now to Amelia, WOW WOW WOW! These past 8 days have just been the just short of astonishing . We all can not believe how far she has come in such a short time. She already had made great attempts to say "Bu Bye" , also she loves making the Tarzan call when she See's our family cat Quincy. The biggest change so far is watching Amelia enjoy the company of people. You can tell by watching her, that she feels more a part of things. Yes we know the words that are being spoken, she more likely can not really understand, but maybe it's because she wore hearing aids for close to 4 months before she got her implants so she might have a little step up on most youngsters who did not have that opportunity for on reason or another. We are all happier than pigs in you know what! hahaha!

Well that's all for now , but before I go, thank you to everyone who has left comments, and for being kind enough to add Amelia's Journey to there blog roll, Its been very humbling for me , having the chance to make the connection with you.

Till next time,

Keep growing , and keep loving!

Amelia's Dad

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Changes

Good day all,

I have seen so many things change in the last 5 days, that I do not even know where to start.

After Amelia's activation on Thursday, she had a long drive home( about 3 hrs) and of course she did not sleep a wink.

When she woke up Friday, of course she cried when her "Cokies" went on , but after a few seconds she was rip roar'in and ready to go.

I am stuck in the city during the week , but I was told and I saw for myself that Amelia has a totally different vibe going on.

She seems a little more complete, and the babbling is non stop. I know at this point Amelia is really only hearing sounds, but she is accepting it all .

My video camera will be rolling non stop , so I will have many moments to share with you all.
I just cant wait!

Amelias Daddy!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

video

Happy Mothers day!!!!

Hi all , I am posting this quick video of Amelia's activation day.

I hope you all enjoy it :)

http://www.youtube.com/AmeliasJourney

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Awesome!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing swimmingly today.

Amelia had her "ears " turned on this afternoon , It was the most amazing sight I have ever witnessed. I really can't put it into word's how the day went,it was all just so emotional that I am not sure I even have a grasp of how I feel.

The look on her face when they plugged her in to the computer was awesome. She did so well, so well in fact , that her audiologist said Amelia was meant to hear, she handled it so good.
However when they actually turned her on so she could hear us and the rest of the world, it scared her a lot . Thats totally normal and just one of the many ways we know this worked for her!

I will be making a video real soon, so I can share this moment with all of you.

This is only the beginning for her... There will be more programming days starting this Monday, so the ball is really rolling now.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, I look forward to talking to you all soon.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

New beginings!

Well My little lemon drop , the day has come. Tomorrow you will have your Cokie's turned on!
I am aware you wont know what the noises are at first, but from what I know about you, you will figure it all out real fast.

No matter how fast or how slow this whole ride goes for you, always know that I am so proud of you Amelia. Your smile always makes the room light up, and that scowl you get, its the best scowl on earth. I figure it will be a big part of your personality forever. You are so strong, you inspire me daily, to work hard, and to care about the little things we take for granted. You never go too long with out making us smile, and thru all the test's and the surgery you have had, You were stronger than I ever could have imagined, and stronger than I would or will be.

I love you Amelia , and I am so very proud to be your Daddy.

Thank you for being here for me , and remember, always say what you need to say!

Love Daddy!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Time to say Thank you!

I just want to say very big thank you to the fine people who have taken the time to send there most heart felt best wishes for my little Amelia's big day on Thursday May 8th.

You all have no idea how much it means to me , that people who live in far off places , care enough to show support to a family they do not know.

Special people like you all are hard to come by. Not only am I blessed with a great family , and very good friends and co workers, but I am also lucky to have people like you , willing to share with a family of strangers like us.

As for Thursday...... is it here yet???

May your god bless you by night, and luck guide you by day.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

The Journey really begin's

Well the time has come , time to welcome my little lady into this world of hearing.

On April 8th 08 Amelia had bi lateral cochlear implant surgery . I can not put into word's the emotion that was felt at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto that day. 3 Weeks later and most of it has become a blur, but one thing is for sure, if little Ms Amelia hears her Mommy's voice really for the first time, then really all the stress and sleepless nights , will only seem like the smallest of mountains that needed to be conquered .

This Thursday May 8 is Amelia's activation day... My nails are gone, but hey whats a dad suppose to do, its better than smoking right?

Ill updste this, even though I know it wont be read by anyone. But still it helps me.. Lets me get stuff off my chest... I need to make room for my part in Amelia's journey sound, and all the little things we all seem to take for granted!