THE VERDICT IS IN......

Yesterday, September 28th, almost exactly 3 months to the day from her inital diagnosis, my daughter underwent her second ABR (auditory brainstem response) test. One foot stick and 2 scalp sticks later, she had an IV and was off to slumber for her test. This test is meant to determine essentially, how deaf Emerson really is and the results showed that she had no response to the limits of the equipment. What this means in layman's terms is that SHE IS REALLY DEAF, profoundly deaf, so deaf that only 30 years ago, my child would not have had any access to sound, not even through hearing aids. She would have only had access to communication through sign language and lip reading. She is so affected that even the super power aids that are available that have a 70 dB gain are not enough amplification to bring her into the speech banana, (the frequencies and decibels where speech is heard). She will get these power aids, however, and will wear them, as they say, this will still stimulate the auditory nerve whether she is hearing the sound or not. Although, this news is not surprising, it definitely brings a wave of different emotions. How do you express sorrow and joy all in the same moment??? for me.... with tears.

We then met with Dr. Little, to discuss the MRI, CT, and ABR results. He said she is a GREAT CANDIDATE FOR IMPLANTS!!!!!! He also said he would be willing to do her first implant in April, when she is only 10 months old. This is two months earlier than he has ever implanted anyone before, but we know the earlier the better. Our next appointment with him will be February 27th, to do pre-op "stuff." I can't believe we are finally here... probably the longest 3 months of my life, but we made it......... as I walked away from this appointment I looked at my sweet baby and wept tears of joy and sorrow. Tears of sorrow for what I know she is missing right now, for the total quietness she experiences, but more importantly tears of JOY, for I know Who holds her future, and I know what her future holds..... SOUND!!!!!

God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, HEAL, and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An EMPTY grave is there to prove my Savior Lives

Because He LIVES I can face tomorrow
Because He LIVES all FEAR IS GONE;
Because I KNOW HE HOLDS THE FUTURE
And Life is worth the living just because He LIVES.

How sweet to hold a new born baby
And feel the pride and joy she brings
But greater still the calm assurance
This child CAN FACE UNCERTAIN DAYS BECAUSE HE LIVES!

Because He LIVES I can face tomorrow
Because He LIVES ALL FEAR IS GONE;
Becasue I KNOW HE HOLDS THE FUTURE
And Life is worth the living just because He LIVES.

And then one day, I'll cross the river
I'll fight life's final war with pain
And then as death GIVES WAY TO VICTORY,
I'll see the LIGHTS OF GLORY and I'll KNOW HE LIVES!!!!

Praise the Lord!!! Throughout this journey, my prayer has been, 'Lord, please let her hear. Be it through miraculous healing or medical technology.' He ANSWERS PRAYERS! Do I believe he still has the power to heal her miraculously, DEFINITELY, and I will continue to pray for this, however, he has already answered in a different way, she will get implants. My little girl WILL HEAR.

The real journey is just beginning and my prayers are as follows:
1) Emerson will continue to develop and meet her milestones appropriately
2) She will remain healthy
3) The implant malfunction will be resolved so that she can have access to the best implant available currently
4) Energy to sustain the therapy and appointment schedule
5) Sign language will be easily learned by me, Jesse, and Emerson. (with implants she will hopefully never need this, however, as another means of communication we are going to learn it.)
6) That a therapy center in Boise will be available and as good as the one in Knoxville, so that Emerson and I will be able to go with Jesse when he goes for his fellowship next year.
7) Dr. Little, her surgeon
8) The implant will take and be VERY successful

Thank you so much for your support and prayers already through this journey. I am so thankful to have such wonderful family and friends.

What a MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!

Prayer Request

Just last week the implant that we decided would be the best choice for Emerson to have if she is a candidate, was pulled off the market, it was the Cochlear Nucleus 5. Less than 1% of the implants have failed, but the company says that's way to many for them. It wasn't causing any harm to the patient, but it meant another surgery if it failed. It was by far the best implant. Our prayer is, that 1st of all Emerson be a candidate, and if she is, that this company fix whatever the problem is in the Nucleus. We pray that by the time she is to have an implant, an updated, more advanced, even better implant will be available.

Be still and KNOW that I AM GOD.

Psalm 46:10

MRI

My sweet baby was a champ for her MRI! On September 9th we made our way to Children's Hospital early in the morning, our first stop; radiology. There they placed some numbing cream on both her arms and feet so they would be numb for the needle stick. Upon returning from registration the sweet nurse in charge of Emerson asked me a few questions and realized I was "medical." She said, "you know since you're medical we won't get the stick." Sure enough after missing the first 2 times, I requested they use a scalp vein instead of continuing to "search" as they are usually a little bigger. The 3rd stick was successful and my little sunshine was ready for sedation.

They used propofol which burns when it's injected. She had screamed so much from the sticking that she was sweaty and already exhausted. As soon as they started injecting the medication, she started screaming, about 10 seconds into that she made a sigh of relief and off to sleep she went. The MRI lasted about 1 hr and she woke up an unhappy camper. The nurse said, "they usually wake up happy," go figure :) About 1hr later, she was back to her happy, content little self. I was so thankful to have this test complete.

I took a copy of the MRI home with me and Jesse had a radiologist here in Chattanooga do a favor for us, a "preliminary" read on the scan. He said no doubt she has her auditory nerves!!!!! Praise the Lord!!! Dr. Little called yesterday to confirm that her scan looked great, no atrophy of the nerves and they are all present!!! One more test off the checklist, one to go..... Sept. 28th, little bit will have her complete auditory testing under sedation, and later that afternoon we will have our followup appt. with Dr. Little. Please continue to pray for her health, appropriate development, and good test results.

FYI: She is continuing to develop right on time! She has had her 1st laugh, rolled over, and is passing toys from one hand to the other!!! and....... She continues to "TALK" to us all day!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever

1 Chronicles 16:34