Our Inspired Journey

We had 6 appointments today at our hospital to assure Cole is ready for his cochlear implant surgery next Thursday morning. We met with Pre-Op, Pre-Reg, a doctor who gave him a physical to make sure he was healthy enough to have surgery (Praise the Lord for no colds right now!), the anesthesiologist (same one he had for his CAT scan), Dr. Novak's nurse to go over paperwork and Dr. Novak to talk over the actual surgery.

We are so thankful the boys did well ALL DAY with a 20 minute nap in the car while we drove around town before we met with Dr. Novak, trying to get them to rest before our last and most important appointment. Ryder was incredibly patient through it all with only one moment when he ran away from us in the lobby and John had to run after him :) He also ran into a nurse when we were waiting to talk to Dr. Novak but trust me...this was nothing compared to how it could've been as we went from appointment to appointment from 9:00-1:30!

Praise the LORD for insurance that has been (as they said) WONDERFUL to work with which is not always the case, Cole's health before surgery and doctors and nurses who have been performing this surgery for a long time and seen very little problem with the devices malfunctioning or difficulty with the procedure (about 3% chance of difficulty based on their experience).

Dr. Novak explained to us how he will be shaving a small portion of Cole's hair around the point of implantation, drill a hole through his mastoid bone, identify and avoid several nerves connected with the face and one that provides taste to the tip of the tongue, and slide the electrode strip into his cochlea. He spoke with such ease as he related how many years and surgeries he has performed (about 25 a year since 1985). He then went on to describe that the surgery would take about 90 minutes for each ear, totalling at about 3 hours long since he'll be implanted bilaterally (both sides) on the same surgery date. This is called simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation.

Recovery for Cole should be smooth. He could encounter balance issues for a day or so afterwards since he is going into the inner ear, and may experience swelling on the side of his face for a short time. Things we will be keeping our eyes out for will be any redness or swelling around the site of implantation showing signs of infection. In that case, the device would have to be removed and a new one re implanted after the infection went away...pray this doesn't happen!!! If everything goes smoothly, we can take his bandages off the next day and give him a bath as usual, washing his hair and everything with no problems! He's been such a trooper so far, so we're praying for another smooth recovery :)

The Lord has been so faithful along this journey. John and I were asked to share our story of God's faithfulness in the midst of difficult circumstances with our church on Sunday. Our pastor was speaking on having gratitude, even when life is tough and asked us to be a part of the morning. It was such a blessing to share. Not only was it good for us to process through God's leading on our lives from saying YES to Illinois to being at peace with Cole's deafness, but it was such a blessing to hear from those in our church body who were touched by our story. God continues to show us how He is moving in people's lives through the way he's created Cole and the WAY He's provided for us through it all. We are honored by our calling to parent such a special boy and for Ryder to be a brother to one who is (by our society's terms) set apart as different. For the rest of his life there will be a spotlight on him and we feel it is our primary goal to teach him what it means to give God glory in the midst of the attention he'll receive.

So we are thankful...for our boys, for surgery next week and for the journey we begin next Thursday...thank you for your prayers and support through it all :) We are also so thankful for YOU!