Take Two

Yesterday day Esther went into surgery to receive her second Cochlear Implant on her right side. A little back history about the choice of sides and how we decided to start with the left and move to the right:

Here we go!

When Esther had her MRI our Dr. consulted with several other docs because the both of the sides seemed to equally complex and “ossified” and he was looking for some sort of marker to help make the decision of where to begin.  The doctor called me that afternoon and we worked through all the technicalities to try to make an informed decision as a team.  We decided to start with the left because a radiologist said there could be a very minute chance that the left looked a little better so we just went with that and moved forward knowing that neither side looked great and we were defying all the odds if either of them worked.

 “ It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.” Psalm 118:8

Just give me food!

Fast forward to yesterday as we proceeded with the implant on the right.  We had to be there at 9:00am but left our house at 7:00am because Esther wanted food and she couldn't eat so we ran errands while here brother and sister had breakfast.  The doctor was running WAY behind and it was close to lunch time before they called us back.  Needless to say I had an unhappy little girl. 

Got the "silly juice" 

After all the GREAT success she was having with the left side we all went into this with big expectations just assuming that since the left and right looked so similar on the MRI that the doctor would get it in and it would work and we would move forward.  Two hours into the surgery a nurse came out to tell us Esther was doing fine and the doctor was moving ahead and they would come back out in an hour.  In an hour they came out and told me she had gotten a little over heated and they were cooling her down but doctor was moving right along.  (Mind you the first surgery was over in two hours).  At this point Chris and Kylan had to both leave so I was there alone.  As soon as they walked out the door a nurse came to get me, wouldn’t make eye contact with me and said “I need to take you to a room and the doctor needs to come speak with you.”  OH MY WORD – I was a wreck waiting in this little consultation room not knowing if this had failed or if something bad had happened to Esther.  I knew it couldn’t be great news or she would have said everything is fine.  The doctor came in and told me that this side was MUCH worse than the other one and he was struggling to get this to work.  He said he had three options and wanted to talk through them with me and we came up with a plan to move forward.  We knew that no matter what we chose it was a gamble and her hearing wouldn’t be like the other ear. 

Two hours later they finally came to get me to meet with the doctor and go to recovery.  At first I was sad about the outcome but once I processed it I really felt at peace.  The doctor worked with the company and some other doctors on the phone to do THE best he possibly could (this doctor is a perfectionist so he was deflated by the outcome).  To get a little technical, there are 22 electrodes that get inserted into the Cochlea during an implant (which is what she has on the other side) and he was only able to insert 8 of those on this side.  He went on to tell me this will be a programming issue and it still might not work.  I was able to share with him my take on the process:

Headed home

There was NO “chance” that we chose to start with the left ear – God was guiding ALL of this just as he guided Esther into our family.  If we had chosen the other ear to start with we would have stopped right there and Esther would have NO hearing.  Now that he was able to get 8-10 electrodes into this ear she has the potential to have sound in this ear.  It might only be half of the other ear but it is sound and that is progress.  Some sound is more than no sound and God’s got all of this so we continue to pray and move forward with the work we are doing and know that Esther has BIG things ahead of her!

I think the doctor was surprised by my take on this and the fact that I could see something positive in the midst of what he saw as a failure!   October 7^th at 10:00am we will have the implant turned on and know if it worked and how we move forward but if it works or doesn’t work it doesn’t we trust the God that already knew every hair on her head before she was even born and he knows the outcome of her life so we will let Him be in control!

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him”. Prov. 30:5

Removal of the bandage

My school sent cookies!