Eye
Haley is moving forward in the process of getting her prosthetic eye for her left eye. She was fitted for her clear contact lens on Monday. This lens is not like a regular contact lens that people wear for vision correction. Her contact lens is clear and hard. I was trained on how to put it in her eye and how to take it out. This clear contact lens is to test her eye's tolerance to it. If her eye tolerates this clear contact lens then she will get the prosthetic eye. We go back to the ocularist in 2 weeks. She has been wearing it only during the day. So far she doesn't seem bothered by it and her eye seems to be tolerating it. She definitely does not like me putting it in or taking it out. It does seem to help open her left eye up a little more and makes it look more normal.
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| Haley with her contact lens in her left eye |
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| Haley's contact lens |
Ears
Rachel and Haley finally got their ABR (auditory brain response) hearing test on Wednesday. We had to wait 4 months for this test at Texas Children's Hospital. I wish we could have had it done sooner so we could have moved forward sooner with treatment for their hearing. The results showed that Haley continues to have severe hearing loss in one ear and moderate hearing loss in the other ear. The hearing loss is sensorineural and can't be fixed with ear tubes. Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent. The only treatment is hearing aids. Haley has to get another ABR before the audiologist can order her hearing aids. So it may be a while before she gets her hearing aids as we have to wait another 3 months for another ABR. It's very frustrating. I want her to get hearing aids soon so she can hear and make progress in her communication. The results for Rachel also show she has moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. We were shocked by these results since she passed her newborn hearing tests and she had ear tubes placed back in September. So Rachel is also getting hearing aids. She will get her hearing aids in 3 weeks.
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| Haley and Rachel playing together |
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| A cute picture I got of Rachel. I love her smile! |
1 year home
One year ago, Rachel came home from the NICU to be with mommy, daddy and Haley. February 24,2011 marks one year we have been all together at home. It has been a great year being all together as a family. We have been blessed that the girls have not gone back into the hospital. They are being watched over by our loving Heavenly Father and their siblings on the other side. Prayers are being heard and answered. They still face some challenges, but we are slowly getting through them day by day. The girls have made a lot of progress in the year they have been at home with us. We are so glad to have our family together.
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| One year ago - February 24, 2010 |
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| One year later - February 24, 2011 |
Happy 1 year at home!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, thank you for posting this- I have been with your blog from the very beginning. Your daughters are so lucky to have such faithful, supportive, loving parents.
ReplyDeleteThey are beginning to look like little girls now too! Best of luck and know that your family is being prayed-for and supported from Virginia ;-)
They have grown so much!
ReplyDeleteYou have a beautiful family.
Praying that the hearing aid process is moved along swiftly xxx
Nice pictures. Yes Rachel does have a beautiful smile. It was great to see a picture of Rachel sitting up independently ~ we generally see pictures of her laying down. Wishing continued progress for your daughters.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Haley have to wait 3 months for another test? If it's scheduling, I'd look into another Children's Hospital or a private audiologist. Now is a crucial time for her to develop speech skills.
ReplyDeleteThat is really exciting about Haley tolerating the contact lens.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the hearing tests. My daughter Rachel has CP and so we are waiting to find out if her hearing has been affected. We will find out in a few months. Just dealing with her other CP issues have been hard. Finding out news like that is not easy. It is just a matter of getting the needed therapies and leaving the rest to God.
They look so big! Darling girls.
ReplyDeleteSensorineural hearing loss can be corrected with cochlear implants. You should look into that.
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