Not the best news... and that thing I wouldn't tell you.

Hi to all my readers...

 

Here is what I didn't want to tell you till it was over.

(because it FREAKED ME OUT!!!)

 

Well about 6 weeks ago we went to Chad's pre-op

appointment and the ABI "team" said that when we

turn on the ABI they would have a nurse, Dr. and a crash cart.

 

I wish you could have seen my face! It said "EEEK! DON'T TELL ME THAT!"

 

I was alone with her and later that day Chad's doctor told him the same thing.

But... Chad does not hear well so he didn't hear it. (Thank goodness!)

 

I did not mention it to him.

 

So... We spent the last two days 3 hrs each day.

 

 

 (I tried to post pictures but something is wrong with the website.)

Well anyway... Wed they had a crash cart in the room and Chad
was curious about it. Then Thursday they got a different
crash cart in the room and they hooked him up
he asked "why am I hooked up to this AED?"
They said... just in case your heart stops.

He said "no seriously why?"

They said in case your heart stops... He then got nervous.

We went on and did the programing. 2 days... 3 hrs each day.
Exhausting...

There are 20 electrodes on the ABI and they turn each one on by
sending in a current and seeing how Chad reacts, what he feels etc.

He mostly began to feel faint as they got to a certain level.
So they would send in a current and then increase it
 and increase it and increase it
until he felt something. Usually he felt like he was going to faint.

Occasionally he felt something in his ear, or throat or at times elbow.

But the bad news is.. No sounds. :(

So the people from Cochlear and the Audiologist both are
going to do some research and we will go back.

We got home very late.

Then today we took him to get fitted for a hearing aid.
He was not happy about going to the doctor again.

That is our update. Thanks for reading! 

 



4 More days...till we turn it on!

An ABI must be turned on.

 

It is going to take 2 appointments on

 2 different days...

 

Why?

 

Apparently it is exhausting to do.

 

We turn Chad's on this coming Wednesday.

I am still not going to tell you the scary

 part until we get back. 

(When it is over!)

 

Last week we also took him to get fitted

for a hearing aid. His doctor wants him to have one.

 

Do you know how much those things cost? 

Actually they are CHEAP compared to and ABI.

 

So 4 more days...

 

 

 



End of 2012 Thanks goodness!

Well.... We have made it to the end of 2012.

 

It has been a very rough year for us...
(just start reading from Jan 2012)

You will see that we have been through a lot
and are ready for it to END!

 

a couple pictures from Nov & Dec ...

Thanksgiving with Amy, Chloe and Shavik

Our whole family

The girls

Blake wins!

Chelsey and her co-worker Janessa

Chad with his buddies... Tyler & Cheri 

This poor kid has been through HELL this year!

 

Ice on the swollen eye really helped but... GEEZ 2 DAYS SOLID!

Christmas eve.... we live where it snows A LOT!



We had a set back, but we are back on track... or we changed the track?

 

So things were going well until Chad said @ 6 am Sunday morning.

I think I am leaking brain fluid.

 

 

It seemed that indeed he was and the Dr. had us

do a test. Put some ointment on it and if

it was leaking it would bubble.

 

Sure enough it was bubbling. So we packed up our clothes

for the week and left for Seattle. We were supposed to go

to Seattle Wednesday anyway so they could turn the ABI on, on

Thursday and Friday.

 

So... off we went. Over the pass which was a snowy

night mare. We were told they closed it about an hour

after we crossed it because it was so crazy.

 

Got to the hospital where the Dr. met us and

admitted him. They needed to put in more stitches

and could not use any anesthetic because if things were coming

out then they could also go in, and cause infection.

It was extremely painful. Then they put in an IV, took blood,

gave him eye drops, and eventually a sleeping pill, he had a nightmare,

that scared him and he clenched his teeth so hard

it caused him a migraine, so they gave him something for that and

then he was so freaked out he could not sleep for a while.

 

It was a very bad night.

 

We are home now... 2 days later.

They are going to wait 3 more weeks to turn it on.

 

Hopefully he will heal quickly. He is having a very rough time.



Had a good night!

Chad had a good night, (he might not agree)

He wants to sleep all through the night.

He is improving using less IV drugs gets him closer to home

Getting up out of bed is good for him but he is not fond of it.

 

His head is swollen today. They may or may not

take off the dressing today. He is not eating much at all.

 

 

He complains less that the last surgery, he was very

ready to go home last time. Now he is just enduring.

 

On to another day @ Swedish. :)

It's done! ABI installed and tested well :)

Hi all,

We are in the hospital here @ Swedish.

Chad got out of the ICU at about 1 pm this afternoon.

 

He is doing well.

His Dr. wants him up and about.

More time in the Chair than in the bed.

He hurts alot .

They took the cochlea out and the Cochlear implant out.

 

Taking the cochlea out left a gap in his head.

So they took some fat from his stomach

and put it in his head. He thought

that they should take some from his butt so he could literally be a "Butthead".

 

He also had a question "If you are what you eat then I am drugs,

If I am drugs why don't I have alot of girlfriends who are

already addicted to me?"

 

So his sense of humor is not absent through this.

 

That is my update. Have a nice weekend!

ABI surgery tomorrow Dec. 7th!

Hi all readers...

I apologize for not updating sooner, however I have been very busy.

The surgery was moved from the 11th to the 7th.

Which is tomorrow. (eek!)

 

We met with some of the surgical team last week

for our pre-op appointment and learned some

scary stuff. I will tell you about it after it's over.

 

This surgery has never been done at the hospital

we are going to. Swedish Cherry Hill campus.

 

Dr. Backous, Dr. Mayberg are the brain surgeons performing

this surgery and they have never done it before. (no stress here!)

 

However they are flying Dr. Marc Schwartz

from the house clinic in L.A. to assist or

teach is a better term to use.

 

The Cochlear America is sending people.

 

Needless to say the cold Chad has had for the past 4 weeks,

has been causing stress the last few days.

They don't want him to cough after surgery.

Apparently you can leak spinal fluid if you cough.

 

So... We are packing up and heading in out in a few minutes

to drive over there.

 

We are nervous! Wish us luck, or prayers on Chad's behalf would

be greatly appreciated!

 

I will update Friday or Saturday!