Welcome!

Hello Everyone! Thanks so much for checking out Evynn's blog! I wish that I had started this a little sooner, but we have been so super busy. I'll start with getting everyone all caught up, from the begining! Evy didnt pass her newborn hearing screen at the hospital when she was just 2 days old. The nurses said that this was common and that we shouldn't worry too much. Fluid from birth can still be in the ears, causing some infants to fail the screening and we were told to make a follow up appointment for another test. 2 weeks later, on 11/17/2010 we brought her back to the hospital for her 2nd test. They said that she had not completely passed the test, but again, there could still be some fluid in her ears. We were told to simply watch her and see an audiologist if we felt like she was developmentally behind. We felt relieved that there was nothing permanently wrong and the next few months were pretty carefree. Around 6 months old we started having doubts, but it was difficult to determine whether or not we thought Evy heard us, or if she felt vibrations and was responding to that. Shortly after, we were referred to an ear/nose/throat specialist for Evy's frequent ear infections and our worries regarding her hearing. The ENT said that Evy had some fluid in her ears and on 8/18/2011 she had tubes put it in. The hopes with the tubes was to get the fluid out and help Evy hear better. After a few weeks with the tubes in we went back the the ENT because we did not feel that Evy's hearing was improving. We weren't really getting answers, so we contacted Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center and got an appointment with an audiologist. After hearing tests in the booth, the audiologist felt there was enough of a suspicion of hearing loss to indicate an ABR be done. An ABR is an automated brainstem response test.  On 9/19/2011 we went back to Cardinal Glennon where Evy was sedated for the ABR test. The doctors put sounds at different decibel levels in her ears and looked for her brain's response. The results told us that Evy was profoundly deaf in both ears. Kyle and I were absolutely shocked. We cried for a few days straight, but we leaned on each other and had amazing support from family and friends. We went to work right away to find Evy the best care possible. We chose the Moog Center for Deaf Education as Evy's school and we couldn't be happier with our decision. 10/12/2011 was a special day for Evy- she recieved her hearing aids! We were so very excited for her, but she didn't like them too much. She has good and bad days with them. Hearing aids were not benefiting Evy enough for her to learn proper speech and language, so we started looking into getting her cochlear implants. After more audiology appointments and counseling with her deaf education teachers, we all decided this was Evy's best shot!. Paperwork was submitted to insurance for approval on Wednesday 12/7/2011. We were told to expect about a month before getting approval, but just 7 days later, they called us with the great news that insurance had approved the surgery!!! We immediately set a date! Evy is scheduled for bilateral cochlear implant surgery on 1/11/2012. We are so excited for her new chapter in life and so very proud of all of her accomplishments so far!