Fast Fragments

If video killed the radio, Facebook is on its way to killing the blog.  November was (once) National Blog Post Month where bloggers would try to write a post for all thirty days.  I decided to take in a new direction and not post at all.  Not a single day.

Not that there wasn't stuff going on, the perfect storm of time to write, my laptop and energy for the task.

So now we're in December, soccer is over, our trip to Oma's for the National Lutheran Home's Fall Festival is past, parent-teacher conferences were held, Thanksgiving came and went, the Christmas tree is up, the Wicoff School Third Grade Chorus concert was a success and the downhill roll to Christmas and Hanukkah is in full swing.

In the meantime, Micah has acquired a TOD (teacher of the deaf) who comes to his classroom a few times per week to work with him on his listening skills.  He's a sponge for any special attention, so he seems to enjoy working with her.

So basically I'm waiting for the Winter Solstice and the feeling that there is even just a shred more daylight at the end of the day. . . .

Photos to be added when time permits.  I'm happy that I finally got one good shot of the kids to be used for our holiday card, and the cards might actually get mailed out right around Christmas. . . . .

Back to the Same Old Routine . . .

. . .Sundays in the hallway at the Fine Arts building at Rider University.  Both kids' classrooms are on the third floor, so I can just plant myself in the corridor connecting the two halls and set up my laptop, iPad, etc.  Micah was a little nervous about going in, which is unusual for him and he's struggling to throw off his first cold of the year (yes, thank you to the parents of the little beast in Kindergarten Extension who sent their child to school sick).

We finished the second week of school, which means homework is starting and Back-to-School nights have been held.  Because the gym at Wicoff was getting its floor refinished, Kindergarten and 1st grade held their B-to-S night Wednesday, and the following night was for 2nd and 3rd.  Both teachers seem nice and are radiating enthusiasm.  Thea's teacher is just two years out of school, and this is her first class.

Soccer has started, and like Ying Hua, both kids' fields are on opposite side of the complex.  Micah's team only plays for an hour, so it's a drop Thea off, got over to Micah's practice and game then go back to watch the end of Thea's game.  Yesterday I had to work, and we were the snack family for Thea's team, so Thea made sure I was up early and we cut up oranges and put together a cooler with Capri Suns and water, and individual bags of chips, hand wipes and paper towels, loaded it with the soccer gear into Steve's car.  I had already put their uniforms out (depending on whether they are home or away, they wear white or green each week.)

Next week Brownies start off, and I am trying to finish autograph pillows using leftover fabric from the quilt I made for Mrs. Church at the end of last year.  The patchwork pattern Thea and I came up with (which someone has likely created years ago is cute and each pillow has something in common with the others and something unique.

Meanwhile the audiologist at Dr. Choe's office was supposed to send in whatever is needed for Micah to get a BP-100 BAHA from Cochlear.  I got a call from the principal because he wanted to check on it so that the school could order Micah's FM system.   She supposedly has sent the prescription in, but as Micah wears his BAHA on a softband, he's not in Cochlear's registry so when I called Cochlear I spent 30 minutes on hold while someone checked on it, nothing was found and I am still waiting for a call four days later.  It's hard to believe one of Micah's current BAHAs is four years old.

Last night while we were eating pizza and watching episodes of The Penguins of Madagascar, Micah asked why his ears weren't like Thea's, while pointing to his ear canals.  I told him that his ear canals were just like Thea's (I had to move her hair out of the way to show him), it's just that her 'holes' are in front of the cartilage and his are behind.  Which seems to satisfy him, for the moment. 

End of Summer

Just what one wants to do on a Saturday morning is drive to northern NJ for a doctor's appointment (basically any activity other than 'sleeping in' would be the wrong answer), but Micah's appointment to have his ears checked had been moved from the 26th to the 24th and then from the 24th to the 20th.  His ENT was willing to let him go for six months after his April appointment, but I wanted the debris cleaned out of his canals before school started. And I also wanted to talk with the doctor about getting a new BAHA 3.  The unit sits a little closer to his head and supposedly has improved sound quality.

Micah also announced last weekend that he wants a new name, and he decided that this new name will be 'Alex'.  Fortunately he's still answering to Micah most of the time.

Last weekend we went to Maryland to see Oma.  We went to the Amish/Mennonite market, the cemetery to put flowers on my father's grave (his birthday was August 15) and to Watkins Regional Park.  Unfortunately the rain kept the little train from running (a favorite of Micah's), but the carousel was still operating and they played miniature golf.

Sunday we went to the German Gourmet in Falls Church for salami, dilled cucumber salad, brotchen, etc. and then went to visit Christine, Jeff, Elise and Emma.  Micah already has asked to go back to visit Oma so we can go back to visit the cousins again.

This week was the last week of Friends Camp, but the songs are living on, and on, and on - so now we have a repertoire of  two years worth of PFC songs to draw from, and Taio Cruz's Rokstar has found its way into the car's CD player and the Dynamite song has replaced Taylor Swift as the current favorite.

Rumblings. . . . .

Micah likes to put his head on my stomach ever since he was a toddler.  Today, without his BAHA on, I was laying in bed with my Kindle, trying to read while Micah was working in his summer workbooks.  He leaned over and put his ear against my stomach and said, "I hear the bubbles. . ." and then bounced off the bed and got two of his maracas and asked if it sounded more like the wooden one or the plastic one.  Since I can't put my ear to my own stomach, I had to grab him for a listen and tell him that he sounded more like the plastic maraca.

Pretty amazing, once I thought about it a little.

Kindergarten Countdown

Micah will still have an IEP next year.  What I feared most was that the school district would say he did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive services.  He will attend mainstream, half-day kindergarten (yes, our district is one of those throw-backs to the 1960s) and receive 30 minutes of speech therapy per week aimed at improving speech and articulation.

Meanwhile the class size will increase from around 13 or so in both of his pre-kindergarten classes (which was up from six to nine in his Summit Speech School classes), so there will be more noise and voices to filter out to be able to hear the teacher.

They will also provide an FM system compatible with his BAHA.  Supposedly the principal had already contacted our case manager at Dutch Neck specifically about Micah and the FM system.

Micah will return to the ENT in August to have his ear canals freshly flossed out prior to the start of school and we'll be talking about getting a newer model BAHA for him.  I would like him to have one that sits a little more flush to his head.

We won't find out which of the four kindergarten teachers at Wicoff will have the privilege of teaching Micah.  Same for finding out about whose class Thea will be in.

And just when we thought all hopes for PIACS starting in the 2011-2012 school year an email came in saying that there is still a possibility that the school will open in September.

Another IEP Review . . . .

. . .all geared toward making sure Micah is ready for mainstream kindergarten.  Unfortunately, I don't think he will be making the cut as far as being eligible for Extended School Year and the speech services that would go along with that.  He's already met his occupational therapy goals as far as fine motor skills, his general education teacher, special education teacher and speech therapist all seem to think all is well.

But. . . .

Micah's tympanic membranes and ear canals are created, not indigenous. and they could change due to scar tissue, growth or whatever and that could affect his hearing.  We work daily to make sure that everything is done to optimize his hearing:  a steroid nasal spray, Claritin, Children's Sudafed, ear drops after baths or swimming.  He is still choosing to use one BAHA to help him hear better.  When he is in a classroom with twenty other little kindergarteners, he will likely need an FM system.

Go ahead and try to cut us loose.  I've had the card of a special education attorney tucked away somewhere for almost four years.

If the school district tries to say that Micah is no longer in need of an IEP (individualized education plan), it has another thing coming.  I already bear a grudge related to the whole charter school issue, I would love to be a festering little thorn in its sides.

Graduation Day Photos

Summit Speech School

Graduation

June 21, 2010

Marching in to graduation with Angelina (note hand on hip).

On stage with Olyvia and Wesley

Singing his heart out.

Along came Mr. Alligator quiet as can be, and SNAPPED. . . .

Miss Kaitlyn, the student teacher in Micah's class this spring;
Micah loves her.

When she finished her student teaching, Micah said,
"Miss Kaitlyn went back to college.  

Do you know what college is, Mommy?
It's a little like JAIL."

My favorite animal is. . . . A FLAMINGO, because of the way it walks.

Some days, getting a decent group photo is like herding cats.

The little twerp was not willing to put his mortarboard back on for photos.

Last Week - Post-Op Update

Micah's IEP meeting was last Wednesday.  The case worker from our school district will be writing a new IEP to make recommendations for the new school district and Micah's transition to an integrated preschool program that includes receiving two 30 minute sessions with speech, one occupational therapy session, and two 60 minute sessions of group speech therapy per week as well as services and consultation from a TOD (teacher of the deaf).  Now it will be up to the new school district to agree with all of that.

The means that Micah is pretty much up to par for his age as far as speech goes.  He still needs to work on social skills like waiting for his turn, learning not to interrupt, joining an existing conversation (versus trying to change the topic to whatever his agenda is) - if there was a magic formula for making that happen, I would sell one of Steve's kidneys on eBay for it as long as the formula for getting Micah to sit in his chair during dinner were also part of the deal.

During the time at Micah's school I also met with the audiologist who has been testing Micah with and without his BAHA to see what is going to work best for him in a school setting.  She had tested him three times and had just gotten his second BAHA sent in so she could test him without amplification, with one and then with two BAHAs - and I think she will also be testing him with an FM system.

What has emerged thus far from the testing is that the left ear is doing better than the right.  In March we had started Micah on Sudafed because Dr. Choe saw fluid behind the right ear drum.  This resolved with the Sudafed, so it was stopped shortly after surgery.

Copies of Micah's audiograms were given so that I could take them to Dr. Choe for our appointment that afternoon.  The new left ear is still looking great, but he restarted Micah on Claritin and Sudafed to get rid of the fluid behind the ear drum.  And at $17 per box for ten chewable tablets chez Target, it had better do what it is supposed to do.  And we're back to putting Tobradex drops in Micah's right ear canal at bedtime.

Audiological testing can restart after Micah has been on the antihistamine/decongestant for a week.

Next ENT appointment is June 9.  The meeting with the new school district is May 25.  Let's just hope that we're actually going to be moving at that point, but that's another post entirely.

Graduation Day

For Summit Speech School's Class of 2009. Not Micah. He'll be graduating from Summit, provided our school district continues to renew his IEP, in June 2011. Five kids are moving on and into the mainstream.

Graduation was tied to the theme for the week, bugs. The school's director did an amazing job weaving bugs into her graduation address, using Eric Carle's The Hungry Caterpillar as her focus. We, the parents of children with deafness and hearing impairment, are like the hungry caterpillars, searching for and devouring all the informatin that will help our children. And somehow, we are fortunate to have our children come here, and into Summit's protective coccoon. Today is the day that five beautiful children emerge from the coccoon, ready to take on the challenges of mainstream education. I was totally verklemmt, and my child wasn't even graduating.

Then the children came in, paired up, followed by the individual graduates wearing white caps with orange tassels.

After pulling it together, my focus became, "Please God, don't let Micah misbehave while up on the stage." He made a few monkey faces, did not exactly perform on cue - I think that he'd worn himself out on singing "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee" while riding in my car over the last week, but overall he was a good boy. He was also within arms reach of one of the teachers or aides (wise move on their part.)

Come July 1, the start of the ESY for those fortunate enough to have Extended School Year in their IEPs, Micah will be moving to Miss Margie's room along with his friends Tom and Ava. His current teacher is wonderful, and with the SLPs, has gotten so much from Micah. I will miss her emails and her amazingly upbeat and optimistic outlook; Micah is also a little nervous about the change - he wants Miss Heather to come with him to his new room. The ESY will also bring a new bus or van driver into our lives, the amazing team of Bob and Diane take the summer off.

After graduation and the reception afterwards, I had planned to take the kids to Rainforest Cafe at the Menlo Park Mall. Until we actually got there, and Micah was a little intimidated by the animatronic snake wiggling overhead and sticking its tongue out, but he marched forward and we were being seated when Thea decided the trees scared her and she was having no parts of the place. Back to the car, and off to Bertucci's. The next time I go to Menlo Park, I am taking myself to The Cheesecake Factory. Alone. Or maybe with a book.

Today we finally had some sunshine in the afternoon, so we hauled out the small pool and a few bottles of bubble goop and just had some water fun. And I even pulled out the laptop and got a bunch of correspondence read, labs reviewed/letters sent and prescriptions renewed.

Tomorrow is the orthopedist appointment, and he'd better give me back my knee, and it doesn't have to be like-new, wonderful. I'd settle for my old crappy knee, just without the pain or the need for the icky neoprene knee brace.

My Day in Court

Back on March 13, Micah and I picked up Thea from school and we were driving home along Prospect Street. As I turned from Prospect onto Rivereside Drive East there was a police car behind me, and as I turned onto Route 27, he put on his lights and pulled me over.

This was the first time I really had no clue as to what I could have done; my first thought was did I not come to a complete stop at that first stop sign, but I did not feel particularly inclined to self-incriminate.

The officer's reason was that I was going 38 mph in a 25 mph zone, which I really and truly doubt. The stretch of Prospect I was on was between two stop signs, I would almost have had to put the gas pedal to the floor to get to that speed before having to put the brakes on to stop again. As the children don't seem to be suffering from whiplash-type injuries, I don't think that's what happened.

What really and truly got me aggravated was that he followed me for more than 1/2 mile before pulling me over, so instead of the nice, safe, not very busy Riverside Drive East, I am sitting on the tiny shoulder of Route 27 at the beginning of rush hour. No way was I going to ask to get out of the car to see the radar device, I prefer not to be squashed like a bug on a windshield in front of my children.

Before he pulled out into traffic to allow me to get back on to Route 27 safely without someone barrelling out of Princeton at 45+ mph parking up my tailpipe, he said "you don't have to go to court. . . ." I don't know why that would have made any difference to him, but that statement bothered me as well.

So today I went to the Princeton Municipal Building at 9 am for the court date. It was a bit of drama and social engineering, attornies representing clients were the first to be able to speak with the prosecuter, then those of us representing ourselves were dealt with - all of this was irrespective of the order in which we signed in earlier that morning. Attornies first, unrepresented peons next, some people just are a bit higher on the pecking order obviously.

The drama was watching a man who had numerous speeding tickets, citations for illegal turns, etc. AND who had also been cited three times for not having children in proper child car seats. He got verbally drubbed, picked up and thumped a few more times by the judge (as well he should.) I think part of her 'creative solution' of having him arrange with the township police department to be taught how to properly install child safety seats would have been to make him got to St. Peter's Children's Hospital's neuro-intensive care to see the consequences of head injuries in children. But he just got walloped with an enormous monetary fine, 15 days license suspension and the requirement to show the court proof of having gone to the police department for the child safety seat lesson.

There was one deaf person appearing before the court with a sign language interpreter, and since the guy spoke very clearly in response to some of the questions being signed to him, I was curious as to the cause of his hearing impairment. I also happy that Micah is in an auditory-oral program. If he is ever in court, he won't be waiting for an interpreter (who got lost on the way to this appearance), he'll be able to speak for himself.

The bottom line for me is that the violation was reduced to no points, which can be done twice in one's lifetime, so I paid the fine and went home. My butt was only slightly numb from sitting for two hours or more even though I was the sixth person to sign in that morning.

And I still don't think I was doing 38 in a 25 zone.

Cochlear Implant Encounter

Friday when we were at Family Fun Night at Summit School, dropping our tickets into the bags for the gift basket raffles, a lady stopped me and started asking about Micah's BAHAs. She said she was a teacher of the deaf from New York, and from her speech it seemed as if she had hearing loss of some sort herself.

The hallway, crowded with people, and already narrowed by the tables set up to hold the gift baskets, was not the best place to have a conversation. She was curious as to how the BAHAs are held on his head (the big mesh hairband with the two little disks held by the mesh and the BAHAs snapped onto them somehow eluding her.)

I tried explaining that he was too young to have the titanium posts that some BAHA users have to attach their devices directly onto their mastoid bone, and I tried to convey that we don't know what lies beneath in terms of being able to have atresia repair. With all the background noise, it was hard, I was struggling to keep my eyes on the kids, speak clearly and maintain eye contact with my listener - but it just really wasn't working. It was the longest fifteen to twenty minutes of my life in terms of frustration.

And then this woman says, "Wait a minute," reaches into her purse and pulls out an over-the-ear cochlear implant hearing aid, pops it on, attached the magnet and the conversation continued.

There were too many witnesses there, otherwise I would have cheerfully strangled her. Why doesn't she wear it all the time?

My frame of reference is stories about kids who want to sleep with their implants on, stories of parents who used some sort of seal-a-meal device to waterproof the implant so that the kid can wear it in the water held in place by a swim cap so they can hear, the idea being that the wearer is happier hearing versus not.

Thanks to a cold/sore throat, a yelling marathon over a blue lollipop with Thea and this conversation, my voice sounds like I'm going through gender reassigment surgery.

We're back. . . .

Another too short, but fun weekend with Oma.

Thea lost her fourth tooth Monday afternoon, just as we were finished walking Chelsea - my mother's neighbor's Boston terrier. Today was animal day: the kids got to pet Peanut, my mother's friend's cat and then we went to feed peppermints to her neighbor's horses. Thea's been doing this for a couple of years, so she's ok with letting the horses slurp the mint out of her hand, Micah was not game for it last time we visited, but this time he tried it once. He was not pleased with the giant horse lips, slimy tongue and big teeth, so he let Thea and Gertrude to the remainder of the mints.

My mother was exhausted by Micah's constant chatter - which is both funny and wonderful considering he had maybe about 30 words this time last year. We were driving back from Richmond on Sunday and she made the comment, "Does he ever SHUT UP?" And as much as I would like some quiet time, I hope he never does. Micah was consistently banging out seven to nine word sentences (I was counting.)

Thanks to the Presidents' Day sale at Kohl's and Oma's plastic, Micah got a new Thomas the Tank Engine shirt and is happy as a clam. The two choices for getting him dressed in the morning are 'puppy dog shirt' or 'choo-choo shirt.' He loves trains, trains, trains, of any sort. And he has a sense of humor about it: when we read his Thomas the Tank Engine book 'On the Track, There and Back there is a line in it that says, "I'm off to the station, a route I know well; To pick up Annie and Clarabel," which he now substitutes Grandma and Oma in place of the coaches' names. I don't know how Oma or Grandma would feel about this development.

Anyway, that's the fast and dirty. I'm happy to be back home; the Coleman air mattress that I use Mom's may have sprung a tiny leak. What started out as a nice firm air mattress each night deflated to a squishy blob by morning, and I'm too old and creaky to be sleeping on a floor.

Could it be this EASY?

The IEP that was written by our school district recommended sending Micah to Summit Speech School's preschool program. I saw it, in print.

I was there for the bottom line, having read all the reports, but to get there we had to hear a verbal recap of all the testing that was done from the speech therapist and the social worker/case manager, then they got down to the nuts and bolts: Summit's program is the best available for Micah's speech delay and hearing impairment.

Duh, duh and double duh. I've known that for about eighteen months, and have been having angst for at least the last six months over Micah's aging-out of the services he receives through Summit.

But the case manager did say that, of course if we wanted to keep Micah in district that they would make every accomodation for him. Right. That would be like choosing between Disneyland and the rides at the county fair, and I don't even like or ever want to go to Disney (and that's a subject for a post of a different kind. )

So to make it look like we weren't pouncing on this IEP we signed the "we've received this and have 15 days to respond" section.

And the social worker/case manager said that she knew from the first meeting that he would be going to Summit. Way to work the poker face, lady - the line I got from her was that "the district is more than able to meet his needs." Which I interpreted as, 'Bite me, you greedy fools, and abandon any hope of sending him out of district." Silly me.

So now I need to regroup, make plans that Micah will be on his way to preschool on March 2, and rework the timeline for getting his CT scan and follow-up appointment with Dr. Choe scheduled to allow him to get adjusted to his new routine.

And some poor special education/disabilities lawyer will not be getting our business.

Which as the Visa commercial says is PRICELESS.

IEP Eligibility Meeting

Today, at 11 am. The Child Study Team presents its reports. Which basically say that Micah is a sweet, inquisitive average child with a speech delay due to a conductive hearing loss.

Duh, duh and double duh.

Then we get to ride the Dinky, which is turning into a regular Friday thing.

BAHA-HA - double the hearing aids, double the fun

This morning when I was half-dressed and my hair was half-dried and we were trying to get on the road to the kids' schools, the call came. . . . the Speech and Audiology department phoned to say that Micah's second BAHA had arrived.

And with an appointment slot available at 3pm, my day went from:

- drop Thea at school at 9 am
- drive 40 miles or so to Summit School for group 10 am until noon
- drive 35 miles back towards home to be at OHES for the OT evaluaton at 1 pm

To all of the above, plus finding a route from OHES to Edison (another 30 miles, give or take) in a state that has no decent East-West roads and then driving 30 miles down Route 1 back home . All on a grey, cold, miserable, grungy, rainy day.

Despite this, I was high-fiving myself. Months of nagging, pushing papers along, more nagging, making phone calls and we're finally at the finish line. For 15 seconds in my own mind, I was a Rock Star. Then, back to my multiple neurosis already in progress.

And throughout all of this Micah survived on just a 30 minute nap, a snack while at school and lunch after the hearing aid fitting, and he managed to even have some fun at the OT evaluation. This kid is so adaptable, he just rolls with whatever comes his way.

He was so excited to go to his school today, he was singing about it in the car. It was so adorable - right up until he said, "Play with 'Laina?" Ouch. Not possible, sport. His best pal turned three in mid-December and has left group for preschool. Doesn't pay to fall for an older chick, sometimes.

At the hearing aid fitting, he was properly excited to have two BAHAs on - I don't know how much more sound it brings to him, and it may take some time to figure out one side is vibrating more so that means the sound is coming from that side, but in the sound booth he was able to hear the audiologist telling him to point to his nose at 15 decibels, which is great. The staff at JFK, particularly his audiologist, love him and he flirts with them shamelessly.

When we got home the mailbox held another bonus, the second set of blocks for the BAHAs had arrived from Forwerd, so I can rig up Micah's baseball hat again (for only one BAHA); I pinched the block from the hat to put on his elastic band. Unfortunately, I had put a message on the order asking for two thin blocks instead of the one thick, one thin in the starter pack which was ignored. But if that's the worst thing that happened today, it's not a disaster. I just hate it when a provider of a service fails to listen to me, especially when I'm paying good money for that service.

We were back in the car one last time because there was a message from The Optical Shoppe that my new glasses were in. Tomorrow the shop is only open until 5:30 pm and I'm working, so it was today or wait until Friday.

Now we're home, I'm trying to upload a picture of the double BAHA, but Blogger or Kodak is thwarting me, so dinner first, photo later.

After dinner addendum: Success, finally with the photo - though even with cropping and enhancing it is still tough to really see the two BAHAs. During dinner I just realized that this two-year old is sporting $8K worth of miniature electronics on his head. Yikes. That gives me a bit of pause considering the Crash Test Dummy wannabee lifestyle this boy lives.

Call Me Mrs. A. . .

Anyone who knows me, knows that when I married, I didn't change my name. This was driven by various factors: laziness and wanting to keep my father's last name being the top two reasons.

It's been a fabulous way to spot telephone solicitors, who call up asking for Mrs. A. and I sweetly tell them that there is no such person at this address. Buh-bye, click.

So Saturday when the mail brought a letter from the State of New Jersey addressed to Mr. and Mrs. A., my initial reaction would have been annoyance - a double dose because whoever had addressed it hadn't even bother to use Steve's first name, which is just shear sloppiness.

But it was the letter stating that Micah's second BAHA was approved, and we could go ahead and call JFK's audiology appointment to set up an appointment.

Two things:
A) for that kind of news, you could address me by any name you like; and

B) I know that the "call to set up your appointment" is patently untrue unless the audiology department has received its paperwork from the State, so it's not worth getting too excited about. And it trickles back to audiology via the hospital's business office instead of via the direct route. Last year when this same letter arrived, I promptly got on the phone to make an appointment and was rapidly shot down because there was nothing in Micah's chart yet. Call back later.

So this morning at 8:30, I was on the phone, talking with the audiologist, and lo and behold, the paperwork had also been received on that end, and things are moving forward with ordering the BAHA. A Christmas/Hanukah miracle, no less, since we might be able to go to Edison to pick it up on New Year's Eve.

And another miracle, my mother called to say that our Christmas cards, ordered Friday night from Kodak had arrived at her house- one full day before we're due to get there.

Now if all that pesky holiday shopping stuff would just take care of itself, I'd be in the clear.

Micah's CTS Evaluation (or the Non-Event Event)

Today was the 'big' day: Micah meets the Orchard Hill Elementary School Child Study Team. Going against our usual modus operandi, we were early, and left to freeze outside because the receptionist who buzzes people into the building was away from her post.

When we went to the CTS office, the secretary seemed a little surprised, not an auspicious sign, but I think they were hoping we would forget about the meeting - and they tried their best to help this along by not calling to confirm it.

Micah went off with the speech therapist and the psychologist while I got to answer the questions from two evaluation questionnaire - one of which re-asked all the questions she should have already had the answers to from our initial transition meeting. (What do you know about Micah's birth mother? What do you know about her prenatal history? With the two big, fat ZIP, ZERO, NADAs that she got there went two entire pages of one form.)

The occupational therapist was away today, so this part needs to be rescheduled, so it isn't over yet.

But today it finally seemed to dawn on the social worker, who is sort of functioning as the cog in the wheel of the evaluation process that Micah's third birthday is March 2. So instead of thinking that we have January, February and March to get his IEP up and running, the light bulb finally went off in her head (almost visibly) that we have two months NOT three. And she now has to get most of the report finished before the winter break.

Since the social worker has a newfound sense of urgency, she said she won't be able to go observe Micah at either his babysitter's or at Sound Beginnings at Summit School. I was pushing for her going to Summit, which was met with "I always get lost going there." A most lame excuse. Use MapQuest or get a GPS, dimwit.

Anyway, it's over - save for the OT portion. Micah seemed unperturbed by it all which is the most important thing to me. I think the report is going to be extremely interesting since no one familiar with hearing impairment is having any input, so even a relative novice like me should be able to dissect it easily.

Christmas is in the bag. . . .

. . .the forces in the universe, Santa included, have come together, albeit somewhat more slowly than last year, and the word from our service coordinator at Early Intervention is that Micah's second BAHA has made it through the approval process and is on its way to getting the check cut for JFK's audiology department (the audiologist will then order it from Cochlear). It may actually be on Micah's head before the end of 2008! Improved sound localization here he comes!

This is the silver version of Micah's BAHA Intenso. BAHA's are manufactured in four colors to attempt to(roughly) match the wearer's hair (for those who use it snapped onto an abutment implanted in the bone behind the ear.) Micah's BAHA is black. We aren't using the softband from Cochlear, but have a mesh headband with an adapter made by Forwerd (http://www.forwerd.net/) .

It is appropriate that the SC comes through with the good news this week - Thursday is Micah's evaluations by the Child Study Team, and the SC opened her mouth and inserted my foot when she said to the CST social worker that "the parents want an out of district placement," thus giving away our intention way before the game even had begun.

One More Hoop. . . .

. . . . yesterday the audiologist at JFK called. She is providing her part of the paperwork that will result in Micah's second BAHA, if all goes well and the approval process doesn't go beyond March 1, 2009 when Early Intervention washes its hands of us. And she needs a copy of the "Medically Cleared to Wear Hearing Aids" prescription from Dr. Choe. The one that I sent to our service coordinator more than a week ago. Don't these people talk much less share information?Sheesh.

Fortunately I am extremely neurotic about that sort of thing and I still have the originals as well as copies so I could fax it off this morning. And I've already called JFK to confirm that the fax arrived (missing the cover memo, but at least the important stuff made it.)

I am hoping that Santa Claus is going to bring us a second BAHA since it's about the only thing I want for Christmas, but I don't know if my patience is going to hold out, especially if any more roadblocks are tossed at me.

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And today the school district called (on day #19.5 of the 20 calendar days it had to respond) and left a message on our voice mail to schedule Micah's evaluation. December 18th at 10:30 am. I am wondering if the Child Study Team is hoping I'll say 'no' since I think they were told I work Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it's one week before Christmas.

Fat freaking chance, let the games begin.

At least I'll have something to talk about at group tomorrow. . . .

The Wait for BAHA #2 and Weekend Update

...is still on-going, but I have got to put a major thanks in to the ENT we saw back in May. When our service coordinator emailed me about needing all the documentation for the secnod application (something she could have told me back in September at our six-month review), I used the personal email address that the ENT had given us at that appointment (and I called his office as well, the OCD kicks in when it comes to anything related to the children). He responded within 24 hours and said the needed documents would be in the mail. What a dude. In addition to being one of those surgeons with really big brains with energy to match, he's not some remote Wizard of Oz type who only speaks to his patients from behind the velvet curtain.

The promised letter and prescription reading "Medically cleared to wear a hearing aid" arrived over the weekend, so after getting Thea from school we went off to FedEx Office to copy and fax it to our service coordinator.

Next move is to contact the social worker at Orchard Hill Elementary to see if she received the signed document giving the Child Study Team permission to evaluate Micah. I've heard there is a history of documents going missing, which does not sound promising - especially since I hand-delivered it. According to The Rules, the CTS has 20 days to respond to this and 90 days to complete the evaluations.

Meanwhile and far away, the children had a great weekend at Oma's, and since it was only two days, I don't think we drained Oma as much as one of our four or five days stays does.

Micah managed to wake up at 3:30 am, slide down onto the air mattress where I sleep and wake me up by saying, "WHERE OMA?" in his loudest voice. Fortunately he bought that Oma was sleeping, had a bottle and a diaper change and went back to sleep snuggled next to me.

The NLH fall festival was the usual. We tried our best to be out the door early, but since it takes 90 minutes or so to get there, most of the baked goods and fudge had been snapped up. There was a silent auction, and Mom's quilting friend had made a donation of one of her quilts. I was told not to bid on it since she had quilts at home for me to buy, but the thought of some unknown peasant getting their mitts on a prize-winner from the Montgomery County Fair for a pittance was not doable. Thea picked out some 'jewels' - a star pin that looks to her like a sheriff's badge and a pin that looked like it would tell the world that she was a knight; Micah got a little bear with a bib, mostly to keep him from wanting something bigger.

We scoped out the Christmas room, but right inside the door was a giant electrical Elmo with a Santa hat. Micah just about lost his mind, and the sounds of "ELLLL-MOH..." bounced off the walls as I dragged the stroller out of the room. Elmo Santa does not figure into my Christmas decor, no way, no how.

Our umbrella stroller got a work out, because Thea wanted to ride (shopping fatigue had set in), and Micah wanted to ride as well, so I plopped him on her lap. Surprising she-who-does-not-like-kissing-or-hugging-her-brother put up with holding him on her lap, and since he knew she was a captive audience he periodically gave her a smooch on her cheek.

In the Book Room, which is usually good for finding a few good quality used books, we ran into two older women who asked what the box on Micah's head was. And one of the ladies, midway through my preprogrammed atresia/microtia schtick, asked, "Is that one of those LOCKLEAR implants?" I thought it was a) pretty cool that she would even have a vague idea of cochlear implants and b) it put a weird image in my head of Heather Locklear implanted into someone's head to help them hear, but that was a nice segue into my 'no, he has functioning cochleas, neither of which is located in his frontal lobe; this is a bone conduction hearing aid' patter. They were overall very interested in a non-nosy way, but they ended with the whole "it's such a wonderful thing you're doing" routine that just bugs me. But rather than tune out and glaze over, I just said that it's the complete opposite and shoved the 90 pounds of squirming children in stroller forward to make my escape.

After lunch we waited around for the results of the silent auction. Micah and Thea played in the fountain in front of the entrance while we waited for Oma to finish up - it was a nice warm day, but the water was darn cold. Thea was out at the fountain by herself when Mom's friend came walking up and Thea actually recognized her and said hello. I was hoping not to be found out but there I was busted with the nap quilt sitting in the stroller.

We stopped at Mom's friend's house and the kids occupied themselves with toys that have been around since the 1960s. The best part of catching up was both my mom's friend and Mom saying how nice it was to talk with someone whose hearing was unimpaired. So many of their friends are hard-of-hearing (HOH) that it can be exhausting to have conversations with them - and both of them really haven't been hit too hard by aged-related hearing loss.

Sunday Thea and I went out to Border's to grab a New York Times, and we drove through LaPlata to see if things were gearing up for the Veterans' Day Parade. There were three huge semis with the Budweiser Clydesdales on them unloading in front of the County Administration Building. Unfortuantely, Micah had decided to take a nap so we waited until 12:45 pm to go to the 1 pm parade. I unloaded Mom and children where the parade had started and went to park on a side-street. Instead of having the Clydesdales as the grand finale, they had led off the parade, so we got to wave to a bunch of high school bands, ROTC units, librarians, people driving antique cars (though how a car from 1971 could be deemed an 'antique'; nothing manufactured during my lifetime should be given that desgination) and the Charles County EMS and fire department - and for the finale, the three semis for the Clydesdales.

The parade route was relatively short so we moseyed along, saw some of the things we had already seen while waiting to cross Charles Street, and then we followed the crowds seeking the horses. The Clydesdales and the wagon, complete with driver and a very blase' Dalmation, were in front of the Town Hall. Micah stood stock still and just looked at the horses from about six feet away, with the occasional "RIDE HORSEY?" chant. There are eight horses in the team and they are huge. All were decked out with braided manes with red and white (fake) roses sticking out. They also had their tails beribboned and styled as well, which if I were a large male Clydesdale, I'm not so sure how I'd feel about having my tail styled so that my puckered not-so-little anus was out there staring down the world.

Anyway, even though I'm not a beer-drinker or a fan of parades, it was fun. After the parade we went back to Hunan Star, scene of last month's meeting with one of the universe's more tactless creatures, for dinner. We were given our 'usual' booth, in the back away from diners without children. Thea actually said hello and ordered her drink in Mandarin, which disappointingly seemed to make no impression on the waiter - and I don't know if it's a Mandarin versus Cantonese thing or he was just peeved that he was assigned the table with the two children.

Since we spent the better part of the afternoon at the parade and chasing after a glimpse of the Clydesdales, both kids slept for most of the trip home, so I was able to commune with NPR in peace. And there was a station just off the Turnpike with $2.04/gallon for regular gasoline.