Coltons Implant surgery is 2 weeks from today. We received notification of his pre-op appointment the day before and it made it more real for me. As we get closer, I am starting to get the pre-surgery jitters. I am worrying about everything. I think that if I don't stop I am going to make myself crazy. We still feel that this is so important for Colton. As nervous as I am, I am still anxious for that moment when they will turn on the implants and he will hopefully be able to to hear my voice for the first time. I know that it will be a big transition for him. Hearing sounds that he hasn't heard in his 2 years of life will be overwhelming for him. I know that this isn't a "fix" for Colton. I am still going to use ASL and try to give him every bit of language that I can. But I am excited for this opportunity for him.
The bad news has been that Medicaid only approved 1 implant for Colton. We really need to implant both of his ears because of his auditory neuropathy. If we only do one, there is a high chance that it won't work well because his other ear would interfere because he does hear some sound. I have been told by other families that deal with auditory neuropathy that their kids describe it as "static." All these families have implanted both ears because the first ear wasn't enough. It is frustrating that medicaid won't pay for both ears. Especially because we are paying a monthy "spend down" to have medicaid. It isn't free for us. We are paying for it. They also don't care about the medical reasons for needing 2 implants. They just don't want to pay for 2. As of right now, we are still going to go ahead and do both. I don't know what that means for paying for it. I guess that is a battle we will have to fight later.
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