Tate's CI Adventure, Take Two, or This Ain't My First Rodeo

I could almost reprint the post from 2012 (here, if you're interested.)

Grandma Grasshopper accompanied Tate and me to Seattle Children's yesterday.  (Grandpa Grasshopper is away, doing some volunteer work for a remote Christian camp, and Kerry stayed home with the other boys.)

Didn't have to be there too early - check in at 10am.

You see that smile on his face?  He wasn't faking it.

Tate has my admiration for his calm, un-anxious acceptance.

Just like last time, he seemed completely at peace and without fear.

I know that has a lot to do with how well he tolerates the surgery and recovery.

Two years ago, as we drove to Seattle, he said something like,

Mom, do you think there's something wrong with me?

Am I missing something?

Because I'm not worried about this at all.

Like, what's up?

Am I too dumb to worry, or what?

I assured him then, and again this time, that we're all calm and confident,

at peace with the decision as well as the surgeon and the hospital.

That peace in his heart is a gift from God :D

And yes, they do mark which ear they're going to do!

Not sure what the surgeon wrote, but it might be his initials.

Oh the layers...

we checked in and got our name badges.

We checked in on the 6th floor.

We checked in with the surgery reception.

We met with an intake nurse.

We met with the anesthesiologist.

We met with the surgeon.

We met with the OR nurses.

And everyone was completely kind and reassuring,

telling Tate exactly what would happen,

accommodating his wishes and concerns.

And off he went.

He walked off to the OR as unconcerned as if he were going for lunch.

Oh that does this Mama's heart good -

seeing him relaxed, confident...

such a young MAN.

And I was glad to have Grandma there to hang out with.

We grabbed a bite of lunch, read our books,

snoozed in our chairs, and waited...

Until...

... we met a very groggy Tate in his room.

Actually, the surgeon met with us first.

All had gone well.

The CI is placed properly, all 16 electrodes are working,

and his incision - which I saw later - looks great.

No stitches this time - they GLUED it.

(And that doctor had the nicest stitches last time - I was impressed.)

But the glue is a great deal because it apparently seals the wound from germs.

No twice-daily antibiotic cream needed.

Tate dozed for awhile, but by 7pm he was more himself.

Awake and, if not actually hungry, interested in eating.

Chicken noodle soup sounded good, with some crackers.

And some ice cream went down nicely and soothed his throat.

I guess it felt kind of weird and he had a bad taste in his mouth from the breathing tube.

And look!  He got the Red Thumb Upgrade!

(Everybody will want one, now.)

Actually, that thing drove me nuts.

Tate was monitored all night - pulse, breathing rate, oxygenation, etc.

Well, that kid is so fit, and sleeps so soundly,

that his resting heart rate is low.

And every time it dropped below 50bpm,

the alarm went off.

HE couldn't hear it

(no great loss without some small gain?)

but I could.

Four times,

before the nurse turned off that alarm.

On top of all the other routine checks through the night,

and waking him up to take meds once or twice.

And, you know, I had one of those fabulously comfortable

fold-out chair/bed things.

So we were really thankful that this morning he was...

eating and drinking normally,

coping fine with pain,

(on a scale of 1-10 the worst he ever said he was feeling was a 3,

and usually he says a 1 or a 2),

and - a great relief -

not feeling dizzy at all...

so they discharged us :D

I'm so glad we rode down with my mom (Grandma Grasshopper) and Kerry came for us, because I'm not sure I would have been a very alert driver coming home!

Tate is a champ.

If you're not familiar with a Cochlear Implant,

the surgery placed the electrodes into his cochlea.

They're connected to a receiver which is under the skin, above and behind his ear.

But the internal components don't do anything by themselves.

I guess it's kind of like having a (land-line) phone that's not connected to anything yet.

The normal progression of things is that Tate will need two to three weeks to heal before they fit him with the external components - the processor - and activate it.  In other words, he's not hearing anything yet.  But that's the plan.  Activation day sets off a flurry of appointments in Seattle where they continuously adapt the programming of the processor to stimulate the electrodes to customize and maximize what he hears.  He'll also be receiving weekly therapy through the summer to help him adapt to the new sounds he's hearing.  (Because it's REALLY WEIRD at first!)

But for now...

we are thanking and praising God for how well things are going!


* PS *

Tate CAN hear through the processor he received two years ago.
He's not getting any "new" hearing until activation day (May 27),
but he's hearing essentially what he was the day before the surgery.

Ta ta...