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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

The Journey is Worth It !

Chance used the word "actually" today when talking to me. We were at a dinosaur museum and I had asked him a question and he responded and then used the word "actually" to change his answer. It is so gratifying to see that Chance is picking up words just because he can now hear them.

I was talking to a mother who found out her son was deaf in the past year. She has been spending her time trying to figure out how to help her son and fighting to get him a cochlear implant. I know the path she walks. I was able to tell her though that it does get better. In the beginning you are so busy trying to figure out what your child needs and how to get them that help. I could relate to this mother and trying to figure out just what exactly her deaf son was hearing and how to discipline when you aren't sure if your child has heard what the rules are.

Looking back, from our humble beginnings into the world of deafness, I realize just how far Chance has come. I see how now that we have been able to get Chance the help that he needs through the implants, a huge weight has been lifted. We can focus on fine tuning Chance's language instead of wondering if he is acquiring language.

Chance used the word "fossils" to tell me about dinosaur bones. Just one year ago, Chance would have had a hard time hearing those two S's in fossil let as well grasping what the word meant. And it would have seemed a daunting task to explain what the word actually meant to Chance. Now, Chance is able to pick up words on his own and understand the meaning of words rather than having to focus on just trying to hear the words.

Yes, it does get better. And the journey is well worth it.

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