Bilateral Cochlear Adventure

Matt received his second cochlear implant yesterday making him a bilateral bionic boy. He will be activated (turned on) at the end of the month. This experience, performed at Texas Children's Hospital, was very different than the first one performed in 2007 at Virginia-Mason in Seattle. No planes, weathered in Anchorage after an attempt to land in Kodiak.....Matt is doing great, though. He wanted to play outside and ride his bike today, which we can't allow for at least a week or two because of the risk of hitting the device and knocking it out of place.

He had to wear the headwrap for 24 hours, but by the end of the day today it was falling off. So, I kept the gauze pad in place with the thing closest to me, a daisy printed headband. Matt attracted quite the looks when he accompanied Michael to a motorcycle shop this afternoon.

He slept with us last night and just before falling asleep, he assisted me in reading a magazine. His assistance in the form of making me stop on every page so he could detail verbally what he saw. I have to say I was impressed. Here he was recovering from an implant surgery in his head, doped up on pain meds and labeled severely developmentally delayed. Yet, he could tell me what items were in a picture, the emotions being shared, the colors of the clothes and people, how many items in a group and what sight words he knew. All of this from a child who just two years ago was having difficulty walking, much less talking and communicating with an understanding of his world. Matt is a true outlier.

Michael and I listened to Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers, the Story of Success" last week on our 10 hour drive home. Gladwell says those we see as outliers, the ones who are so successful whether in business, elementary school or in a rock band, become so because of not just WHO they are, but also WHO helped them get there. What opportunities are presented and taken advantage of have tremendous impact on shaping a successful person, but their cultures, their societies, play a large role as well. So, I want to thank everyone that has helped Matt become the success he is at this young age of 5. Everyone from his GAL to his preschool teacher to his PT, his OT, his speech therapist, his siblings, our accepting friends, his family have played such important roles and presented so many opportunities for him to learn, to stretch his wings and show his skills. The opportunity to have him implanted not once, but twice, is enormous and not taken lightly either.

This little hurricane, this little force of nature, has something special to give back to the world, but in the meantime he gives us happiness, purpose, and daily challenges (anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes can attest to this!!!!!). He gives us an adventure worth taking.