MRI Results, Hearing aids and Family update

We got the MRI results back and they were normal. Whew! This means that Logan's hearing loss is not due to a structural abnormality and there is a lesser chance now that his hearing will continue to deteriorate. They will do another MRI in March so they can continue to track his hearing and make sure that it has stabilized.

Logan will finally get his hearing aids on Feb. 3rd. After MANY frustrating calls with the insurance where they continued to tell me something different with every call, I was able to get the aids covered this one time. We decided (because of this) that we would get the best ones we can in hopes that they will be able to cover his needs for the longest period of time.

Just a bit of info that I've discovered: Hearing aids (at least for kids) last about 3 to 5 years. They cost between $1,000 to $4,000 A PIECE (Logan needs 2 - one for each ear). Most children get the behind-the-ear models so that the ear molds (which are like a flimsy piece of rubber, molded specifically for each child) can be changed out about every 3-6 months while the child is growing. These cost about $300 for a set so they are much more affordable to replace than the entire hearing aid. Also, there a very few insurance companies that cover hearing aids (I was totally shocked!).

Now on to the update:

For the older boys, Andrew and Matthew, basketball season will be over in the next few weeks. Individually they have both played really well although their teams haven't always done their best. They've enjoyed playing and it's been good for them to have these extra activities to do on Saturdays.

Andrew has already started practice for spring football season. He plays on a rec team in the area. It keeps him busy and helps him continue to improve his skills.

Matthew usually plays spring football, but this year they were unable to find enough boys to field a team for his age group. He's a little disappointed but is looking forward to the extra time to play with his friends.

Kaitlyn has started playing basketball with Young Women's. I don't think they take their games too seriously but have still played well. It's a fairly short season and will be over in a few weeks as well. She also starts practice for spring soccer in about a week or two. She had to cut her season short last season due to an injury so is really excited about the season starting. They have reorganized the teams so that they are a little more even as far as age of the girls so her team should be pretty competitive.

Brie is doing pretty good in school and has a birthday coming up in a few months. She is REALLY excited about turning 12 and being able to go to Young Women's. We live next-door to a family with four girls (ages 8-14). Both Brie and Kaitlyn go over to play at their house quite often. The two older girls are already 12 and Brie looking forward to being able to go to church activities with them (they are members of the church - very convenient).

Ethan is very active and very UN interested in potty training. He will be four in May so this is a big source of frustration for us. We're working on it though and hope that someday soon he will get the hang of it. He loves to play games on the computer and is learning visual recognition of the letters (He already knows how to sing the alphabet).

David is really busy at work. He had a client significantly decrease their mailings; thereby decreasing David's profits. They are slowly starting to increase their business again but David has been diligently trying to make up for the lost business. Besides work he has been working with the older boys on scout projects and goes to as many of the kids events as possible.

I've been doing well - just busy trying to keep up with all the different appointments and family events.

David's dad, Rodney was able to come and visit at the beginning of the month. It was great to see him. The kids really enjoyed having their Grandpa Dotson visit. We hope that we'll be able to see him again soon.

I think that about covers everything. As you can tell, I still haven't been able to find the time to post pictures yet. Hopefully soon!

Potty Training & Logan's MRI

It's official.....Ethan has gone "pee pee" in the potty for the first time this morning. We have been trying for several months to get him interested in going. He has had ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST. We didn't want to force him and have it be some traumatic event so we just waited it out. We tried the potty book. We tried the reward chart. We tried the "big boy underwear". Nothing seemed to be working. Yesterday I got the Feel 'n' Learn pull-ups and he was really excited. He tried a few times last night but nothing. We told him he would get a small sticker for each time he tried and a potty sticker for his potty chart if he actually went. I was with Logan this morning (he was having an MRI) and David stayed home with Ethan. He called about 10:30 with the big news. Now I'm even more excited. I just hope we can keep it going this time. It would definitely make things a lot easier if he is potty-trained. Wish us luck!

Logan had his MRI this morning. We won't know the results until our follow-up visit with the ENT doctor. They won't even make that appointment until they receive their copy of the report. I hope it's soon because all this waiting is driving me nuts. He did really well. They have to sedate him so he will lie still. He actually fell asleep (while I was holding him) while we were waiting for him to be taken back to the MRI room. It made it really easy for them to give him the "gas" so he was out for the procedure. He actually recovered better this time than when he had his ABR. He fussed a little but seem to be more alert quicker. I just hope he won't have to have many more of these sedated procedures. He seems so fragile lying unconscious on the hospital bed. I know he's fine but it's just hard to see.

Christmas and Update on the Kids

Christmas was pretty quiet for us this year. We had the older kids until Christmas Eve and then they went to their mom's house for several days. As is customary in our house, if we have the kids up until Christmas Eve, Santa comes on the night of the 23rd and we open presents on the morning of the 24th. A lot of times we plan a trip or have family visit around Christmas. Since my mother's accident last year we haven't had much in the way of family visits. and, because the economy is so bad now and we just moved into a new house this year, we decided not to go anywhere for Christmas.

David's dad, Rodney, was able to come down and visit us from Canyon, Texas. It's about 6 hours away. He was able to drive down this last Thursday and stayed until yesterday. We all really enjoyed his visit and we're very glad he was able to come. He also assisted David in giving our youngest, Logan, a blessing.

This is a whole different topic but I'll touch on a few of the specifics. Logan was born healthy and happy. The hospital did a newborn screening test (as they do on all newborns) and did not indicate any abnormal findings. Logan is almost 2 and has yet to say any deciferable, meaningful word. He makes noises and, at times, will attempt to say something, but he is unable to form the right sounds. We had his hearing tested (the first step in a speech delay evaluation) and found out (just before Christmas) that he has moderate hearing loss in the lower and middle frequencies and almost no hearing in the upper frequencies. This helps to explain a lot of our concerns.

The treatment for this is hearing aids and extensive speech therapy. This loss is different from the loss that some kids have from having repeated ear infections. It's classified as a sensorineuro hearing loss. This basically means that the loss is permanent. One of the next steps is to have an MRI done. This will tell us if his inner and middle ear formed properly and evaluate his brain to make sure there aren't any abnormalities there. If there is a malformation in the ear, there is a greater chance that this could be a progressive hearing loss. Otherwise, if his sturctures are normal, they will continue to explore other explainations.

He is a very happy, healthy kid and (other than not talking)seems perfectly fine. We are just having to spend a lot of time in doctors' offices and doing testing. We have a lot of unanswered questions as well a lot of decisions to be made over the next several months. We are trying to get him all the help that he needs and expect him to get completely caught up within the next year or so. We just hope and pray that there is not something more severe developing.

So, other than the craziness of the doctors' appointments, things have been pretty quiet around here. We have had some time off from school and sports, but those activities resume this week. As far as the older kids:
Andrew is playing basketball through school, as well as through a rec league (can you believe it - he is actually 5'8" already and still growing)He's in 8th grade this year
Kaitlyn is in 6th grade. She's plays in the percussion section in band. She still likes soccer but got hurt last season and hasn't been able to play for a while. She hopes to start again in the spring.
Matthew is playing basketball through a rec league. He is in 4th grade this year and really enjoys playing football.
Brie is in 6th grade. She is in choir and was a cheerleader this last season with the rec football league. She hopes to join the middle school squad next year.
Ethan in every bit a 3 1/2 year old BOY. He is very active and loves to play computer games and help daddy in the yard.

I think that's a "quick" (HA HA HA) update on all the kids. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to post pictures, so I'll ask you for a little more patience for those. We've had some computer problems recent;y and have just been able to get everything ironed-out. And, now that the kids are back in school I have a LITTLE more time on my hands to get things updated.