We have all had a very long day with lots of doctor visits, plus a very stressful wait while my tiny 26-pound girl was put under anesthesia, but we just got the best news we've had in YEARS:My daughter Elisabeth has perfect hearing. She's just over 3 and not really speaking yet, mostly due to a pretty rough start as a 28-week preemie with open heart surgery at 5 months old. During her recovery from heart surgery she was accidentally overdosed with a drug which causes hearing loss, and we've never been able (despite numerous attempts) to get a complete and accurate hearing test for her yet.
The doctor said that she may have had some problems in the past with fluid in her ears and not being able to hear well because of that, and her left ear is not quite as good as her right, but today it was PERFECT. :-)
Elisabeth also said a new word today, very clearly: UP. (She said it when she wanted to be taken out of her crib, and also again when she wanted to be put up on the hospital bed). Since she only has about 3 other clear words, every single word is a huge success.
I'd rather have that than a 9-hour Ironman finish any day. :-)
Elisabeth is going to talk when Elisabeth wants to talk, and not a single day sooner.
Training is called off today, and we're all going to go eat ice cream to celebrate, besides.
30 comments:
That's great news, Nancy. One less thing to stress about :)
Wonderful news! My son, with a different set of issues (ADD with autistic spectrum tendencies) had a vocabulary of about 20 words at age 3. He was helped most by a speech therapist who figured out ways to motivate him to want to talk. He caught up in speech by age 6. He's now 16 and still different, but successful at a fairly demanding boading school.
Great, GREAT news, Nancy! I'm so happy for you. Onward and upward. :)
That ROCKS!!!!!!!
:-)
Elisabeth's hearing ROCKS!
The word "Up" rocks!
Whoo-hooo!
GREAT news!
(and now I'm going to bed...)
great news!
i'm ready to corrupt Elisabeth with my devil music anytime you are ready!
shorty wants to ride!!
Awesome news, Nancy! You must be on cloud nine!
Enjoy some ice cream for me! :)
hallejuah! What fantastic news for kids this year. I would take that over a 17 hour Ironman any day too.
great news, nancy. believe it or not, one day she'll be talking so much you'll be wishing she would just hush! Enjoy the ice cream and the girls.
That's great!
And I totally agree... some of the sucesses and moments of life are sooo much better than the feeling any tri finish time would bring.
Totally excellent news! Yea for Elisabeth and your whole family!
Yea! I am so happy to hear that her speech is just delayed and not because of a hearing loss! She will snowball like crazy now I bet now that she is using "up" there will be many more to follow! (And when she is a teenager and on the phone all the time...well, you just may wish her vocabulary was smaller!) :-)
oh wow. Nancy, you know I have twins too -- they were early, but now I know how different it could have been for us.
I sometimes stress about their weight, their development - and they are a fine and healthy four years old! Ellie is darn near 40lb, her sister is 4lb behind her -- they were 4lb 9 and 3lb 14 respectively at birth (6 weeks early).
I don't think I'll ever stop being their mother...
And when she decides to talk, I bet you'll hear her talk about "triathalon" - I got to overhear one of those conversations the other day... Priceless!
No, I didn't have a point in this comment. I'm just making random conversation...
That is great new! You know what is going to happen don't you? She'll probably go from no speaking to non stop all the time talking and chatting! Get ready for it!
Yum to the ice cream too :-)
Wonderful news!
I'm so happy for all of you!!! :)
Nothing is more important than your babies!! What wonderful news!! I am sure that you are relieved and thankful. Continue to celebrate and enjoy every day! Elisabeth will have a lot to say --- when she's ready!!
That is wonderful news Nancy! I'm sure it feels like a huge load has been taken off your shoulders. A new word at the hospital too!
My parents thought something wrong with me because I didn't start talking until 3 1/2. The couldn't find anything wrong with my hearing but I would just point and grunt at things I wanted. One day, I was pointing and grunting but nobody was paying attention until I said,
"I want the ball!"
My Mom said everyone was in shock. I never said one word but I formed a complete sentence. I let the cat out of the bag that day. I was just too lazy to talk because I two older sisters that would obey my grunts. From that day on, they made me ask for what I wanted instead of grunting.
Maybe Elisabeth is holding out too! :) I'm so happy for you and your family. I hope you had some great ice cream!
It's good to hear that the challenges of the past are remaining in the past. Of course, she looks happy, hearing or not.
If we ever make it out to the east coast for a race, we can help out with her talking. We'll just put her in a room with Toddler Pol and she will definitely pick up, "Does he EVER shut up." (Toddler Pol takes after his dad, a bit).
And as one who has also suffered from hearing loss (as much as 80% at different times in my childhood), I can vouch for the fact that the talking will come on full force over time.
Congrats, Nancy. That is the best news ever!
How fantastic!!! Two of my kids were "slow" talkers and they didn't even have trauma like Elizabeth-now I can't get them to stop-talking that is. Enjoy the celebration, and hopefully fewer doc appointments now too.
That's awesome. :)
great news nancy!
Oh Nancy, that is fantastic news! Especially after all the trouble you had to go through just to get these tests done. Looks like Elizabeth is going to be one of those woman of little words. The awsome thing about that is that when she does speak, people will listen. I bet she has already discovered that and is using it to her full advantage!
YEAH FOR THE TOBY'S!!!!! GO HAVE ICE CREAM!
Thanks, everybody! I appreciate all your congratulations.
I'm sure one day I'll get tired of her chatting, but she's still got some significant challenges ahead in speech development. She's got some real oral-motor issues after being tube-fed for her first 8 months.
I'm sure people who are in wheelchairs and get out of them get sick of walking eventually, too, but....
How thrilling! I bet when she does start talking she'll be saying entire sentences! That's what happened to my sister with reading.
Nancy,
That's great.... :) woohooo.
Hallelujah!! You're right, best news in YEARS!!!
glad to hear all is well. my nephew was overdosed for an ear infection. it caused all the bacteria in his stomach to die which allowed him not to keep food in his stomach. his first 5 years of life were maintained by Ensure.
That's awesome
I'm soglad I didn't miss this post in my bloglines :-))) What great news! i'm very happy for you both :-D
That is WONDERFUL news!
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