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Sunday, June 24, 2007

The second implant makes a BIG difference..

We see a big difference when Chance has only one implant on. Chance is adamant about wearing both implants but every once in a while we get a taste of having just one implant. One day before school, one of the implants would not turn on. The bus was waiting for Chance to come out and I was desperate so I told Chance just to go to school with out one of the implants. Chance refused. It turns out the battery pack was not pushed all of the way in.

Occasionally, when one of the implants runs out of battery life, Chance if involved with something, will wait until he is done to change the batteries. At these moments we really see the value of having two implants.

The other night at Chance's baseball game, I was calling to him as he stood at the fence. He did not respond, so I stepped closer to him and called out. Still, Chance did not respond. I walked up to where Chance was and called. I could not figure out why Chance was not responding like usual. There was noise what with a baseball game going on and the kids next to Chance talking, but usually Chance would respond at his baseball games. Finally, he turned. It turns out the implant closest to me, was out of battery and Chance was involved with his baseball game and had not come to change the batteries.

In fact, if Chance does not seem to be responding as well as usual, and the environment is not noisy, 99% of the time it is because one of the implants is not turned on. The difference in what Chance is able to hear is very apparent.

With both implants on, Chance can over hear my phone conversations and respond. He can over hear people having a conversation and ask questions about what is being said. Chance can also hear from a further distance and hear more clearly.

We really debated and agonized over whether we should get a second implant, but we have no regrets. On the contrary, we are thrilled with the results!

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