Ok then, why didn't I hear you then?

Most mornings at our house find children with jobs to do and rooms to clean. On this particular morning, as Chance was heading back to his bedroom, I asked him to please take the matchbox car that was on the floor in the living room and put it away in his room.

To make sure that Chance heard me, I repeated my request and he even looked at me and nodded.

Half an hour later, while passing through the living room, I noticed that the matchbox car was still laying exactly as it had been all morning so I called out to Chance to come see me.

"Chance, I asked you to put this car away half an hour ago. Someone is going to step on it and get hurt."

With great conviction, Chance explained that I had NOT told him to pick up the car and take it back to his room.

I assured him that I had indeed asked him to put the car away.

Then Chance, with his head bent and his voice full of exasperation asked, "Why did I not hear you then?! "

Where to start with this question. It obviously did not occur to Chance that he would not have heard me. The problem was mine. I wanted to laugh, but Chance was so earnest and serious.

Honestly, I think that this moment had less to do with Chance's hearing loss than his being a typical 9 year old boy who gets distracted as his mother is talking to him sometimes.

Apparently, for future record though, if Chance does not hear me, it is my doing. Not his :)

Riding the 'Wican'

We pulled into the parking lot of the amusement park and Chance bounced out of the car ready to take on the rides.

"I'm going on the wican!" Chance declared, referring to one of the rides he had heard his brother talking about.

"Where is it?" He wanted to know as he scanned the park from our parking spot.

"Do you want to go on the wican?" Chance asked some friends who were with us. They didn't hear him so they did not catch his mistake.

"It's called Wicked", I explained to Chance. I could just imagine Chance in the amusement park asking about riding the Wican.

With a name like Wicked, you have to know that the ride will pack a punch. Chance has always loved these thrill rides. His dad and I went on the ride with him and his little sister who also appears to be an adrenaline junky.

You start out in a tunnel where you load, then the ride slowly takes you out of the tunnel and then shoots you up to a peak, where you immediately hurtle back down towards the earth, all the while watching the earth come at you since you are face down. It was a thrill. Chance hears nothing this whole time just thrusting and what he can see. No thrill screams from the people ahead. No WHOOSH of the cars as they sail over the tracks.

We eagerly watched the kids' expressions to see what they would think. They loved it. Both of them wanted to know if we could go again. The line was quite long by this time so we told them we would come back later.

We take Chance's implants off for the rides since we don't want to know what happens to them when Chance is hurtling around at 60 m.p.h.

How much more attuned must your other senses be on a roller coaster when you are not hearing anything?! Whatever the feeling is, Chance seems to really like it")

During our ride on another roller coaster as we were climbing up to the top so that we could Swoosh down again, a voice came over the speaker reminding everyone to keep their head back against the seat. I looked over at Chance as we started to descend and realized that his head was not against the seat and he was getting ready to hold his arms up in the air as we went down. The voice that told us to hold our heads against the seat, also told us not to do that. Since Chance could not hear me, I motioned to him to put his arms down and pushed his head against the seat. This meant that when we descended, my head was not against the seat until late in the turn. It was a little uncomfy and my head got whipped around a bit, but I recovered soon enough and was glad that I had made Chance understand what he needed to do. This discussion about our heads being against the seat and not holding our arms up in the air as we descend might be better had BEFORE we actually are zooming down the tracks. I'm just thinking.

Chance had a great time and I was amazed to see how much he got while talking without implants to one of the boys. I was on a ride behind Chance and his friend, and Chance nodded as his friend gestured and looked at him while he talked. After the ride, his friend was telling Chance what rides they still needed to ride and Chance understood all but the part where he was told which ride was next. So his friend dashed off and Chance turned to me and said,"Where do I go?"

All in all it was great day. Chance loves to hurtle through the air. If only Chance and I could trade places for one ride....I could ride in silence and see what that is like, and he could see what it is like to hear the screaming of other riders and the sounds the ride makes as it zips around the tracks.

Chance feels the music

Chance has been taking swimming lessons first thing in the morning so he usually just grabs his implants and doesn't put them on until he needs to hear instructions from his swimming teacher.

Today as we drove, Chance suddenly said,"Is that music? I feel music!"

From what I could see in the rear view mirror, Chance was even swaying a little to the music he felt.

Sometimes, I would like to be inside of Chance's world and feel what he feels for a moment.

Once Chance was at his private swimming lessons, I had to remind him that even though he could not hear his teacher, his teacher could hear him. I think Chance is so used to being in a class with several other kids, that he isn't used to so much attention from the teacher.

I would hear Chance say, "What?" when his teacher said something that he did not get a good lip read on, but Chance seemed to forget that even though he could not hear his teacher, his teacher could hear him.

I was again amazed at just how good Chance is at reading lips. His teacher was in the water with Chance swimming or walking along beside him and was really good at getting Chance's attention and putting himself in Chance's view so that they could communicate with speaking and lip reading. The teacher would also motion or use signals so that Chance would know what was going on.

It was a very positive experience. Chance worked harder than he ever had before during swim class. The class was tailor made for Chance's level and endurance and that is just what we need.

Chance plays checkers, and makes a satchel and a corn husk doll...

Today we went to Colonial Days which is a little replica of how a town would have been in colonial times. It was great fun. There were colonial games to play, satchels full of lavender to sew and crickets to eat. Yes, the Indians really did eat crickets and you could try them if you wanted. Chance did not want to try them. He did try his hand at several of the activities though.

Chance carefully sewed up the sides of a satchel and then filled it with lavender for me. Now all my clothes can smell good. He also made a corn husk doll for his baby sister. All of these activities were done in groups with someone dressed in colonial clothes giving out instructions. AND CHANCE COULD HEAR THEM! He sat in the groups and just listened like any other child. I never cease to be amazed at what he can hear....or that he can hear at all, let as well join a group of strangers making corn husk dolls and hear the instructions well enough to make one.

Chance also sat down at a table where a checker board was laid out and asked the boy his age sitting there if he wanted to play a game of checkers. I absolutely love to see Chance have the confidence to engage in these situations. The implants have just helped Chance to blossom and interact with people wherever he finds himself. He was extra social today and not timid about engaging people he didn't know in conversations whether it was to play checkers or ask a question about how to do a craft. Does Chance have to pay more attention then someone who hears without implants? Absolutely. Does he pick up some of what is going on by watching his surroundings? Sure. But he can hear and can participate in situations that he just walks into and is not familiar with. He has the capacity and the confidence to hear.

Chance even played a game of checkers with one of the adult volunteers who was all decked out in colonial attire.

Chance's confidence has really taken off since he has had the implants. Gone are the days when he is afraid that someone won't understand him or that he won't understand them. I used to ache when I saw him trying to communicate with people and they either didn't understand him, or he didn't understand them. I could see that his confidence was affected and that he was holding back because he didn't understand what was being said.

I look at where we are now 3 years into having him implanted and realize that getting Chance the implants has turned out even better than we dared to dream.

How Chance having an implant helped the kids score some treats at the store.....

Most of the time, our journey to help Chance hear, has involved our other kids attending many doctors appointments, going to sitters while we had meetings, and having to be quiet for long stretches of time while Chance's hearing was tested or his implants were programmed.

Today however, the kids took advantage of having a brother with implants and found some perks that come with the territory.

We were in the grocery store to purchase a FEW items namely things needed to celebrate their dads birthday. We were almost done shopping and had made it to the freezer department to pick out ice cream, when I was approached by a gentleman who wanted to know how we liked the implants. It turned out that he had a grand daughter who is deaf and he was curious if the implants were working for us. I welcome questions from people. I feel that we can all help each other along this journey. It is not uncommon for us to be stopped and asked about the implants either. On this particular day, the kids were excited to get home and make a cake and were just about done with the whole shopping thing.

I talked to this gentlemen for just a few minutes, and then headed off to the cash register. The kids were all helping to unload the groceries onto the belt at the checkstand, when one of them dropped the eggs by accident. The eggs landed back into the cart with surprising little mess considering the potential of eggs to create especially sticky messes. I of course began to do damage control and sent one of the boys back to get another carton of eggs. I remember taking out a box of Go-gurts and sending the kids to put them back as they were not on our list.

After the items were totaled, I thought to myself,"That seems like a little more than I was expecting but OK." The manager and I were still clearing up the eggs right before I paid, and as nice as he was, he told me not to worry about paying for the broken ones.

Once at home as I unloaded the groceries, I found that there were several items that I did not remember placing in our cart. The kids were particularly excited about white bread. We usually only buy wheat bread but alas, a loaf of white bread was on my counter.

It turns out Chance had also taken the initiative and put two bunches of bananas in the cart as there was a stand in the frozen isle just in case you suddenly remembered that you were craving banana splits. This even though his dad had just bought bananas the day before. I also found an extra tube of frosting as I put away the groceries and suddenly the higher grocery bill began to make sense.

I don't feel so bad anymore that the kids have been dragged to numerous appointments with Chance. Apparently, they are finding the silver lining and finding benefits to our life style.

Chance passes swim class....

Chance has once again passed his swim class even though he can not hear while he is swimming. He is a little trooper that kid.

He'll have fond memories of blue shimmering water, splashing, and silence as he recalls his childhood swimming days.

I still wonder what it must be like to swim with out hearing since so much of a pool experience for me has been the whack of the diving board as someone dives in, the sound of splashing, and kids laughing . A pool is so full of non stop noise, that I can not imagine what Chance's experience is as he swims in silence.

A thank you to the boy in the red swim trunks

Dear boy in the red swim trunks,

At first, I thought you were messing with Chance when I saw you tapping him. You were so determined to get his attention, I was afraid that you were frustrated with him and my mommy radar went off. After a few days of swim class though, my heart was filled with love for you. A special love that is generated by those people who seems to just "get it" with Chance and interacts with him in such a way that it touches my heart.

I saw you on the playground after swim class and the way you touched Chance to get his attention and made sure that he knew you wanted to play and that he knew what was going on.

In swim class, you took the time to interact with Chance as you all hung out at the side of the pool waiting your turn to swim across the pool. You both laughed and enjoyed yourselves even though you could not talk to one another.

I watched as you shared a moment with Chance on the slides during the last day of class and how you went out of your way to get Chance's attention to say goodbye.

You were kind, accommodating and a good friend for Chance during swim class. I don't know that I would have taken the time to be as friendly as you were when I was a kid if there were a deaf boy in my class. Would I have just looked at him and figured he could not hear me? Or would I have been like you and let friendship transcend a lack of conventional communication?

You are an example of goodness and I am so thankful for boys like you.

I hope that you have a great summer and that good things happen to you. Thank you for making Chance's summer a little brighter and for touching a mommies heart.

Love,

Chance's mom

Private lessons here we come!

This year our local pool is offering private swimming lessons, and we've decided to give it a go with Chance.  Chance took the regular swimming lessons and did well, but we now have a reason to want to Chance to swim well by the fall.  

Chance's dad, brother and other family members are planning a trip to Havasupai Falls in the next few months in Arizona.  They will hike in the 10 miles to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, camp out, and swim in the beautiful pools below the falls.  I think that Chance will love it.  Several people we know have been to the falls and say it is a memorable trip and worth the hike through the Grand Canyon to get there.  We have also been told that the currents in the falls are a little funny and you need to be able to swim well.  I am glad that we were made aware of this little fact.  There is something a little unnerving still about having a child that can not hear you when they are in the water.  Being at a pool with life guards around and a limited space to swim is one thing.  Being in the pool of a water fall where there are currents to contend with is another.  Since Chance will not hear any advice given from shore or be able to hear warnings in the water, we feel the need to shore up his swimming skills.   

This is a situation where the battle of using technology to hear or using sign language wash each other out.  You can not swim with the technology so you can not hear, on the other hand, unless you are looking right at who is trying to talk to you, you will not see signing either.   There is no calling out in either mode of communication.   Deaf is just deaf in the water no matter how you talk when you are on land.

Chance's dad will be nearby at all times, and there will be strict rules on when Chance can get into the water such as someone must always know that he is going in.  He won't hear anyone call out to check to see where he is if he is in the water.

So, Chance now goes to private swimming lessons in the morning.  His teacher is good and is not intimidated at all by his deafness.  He is good at reaching out to tocuh Chance to get his attention and demonstrating what Chance is expected to do.   We have told the teacher what the goal is, to get Chance ready to swim at Havasupai Falls.  Chance uses different swim strokes,  swims across the lanes of the pool and is working on diving down in the water.  I say working on because Chance's teacher tried to get him to dive down today and Chance did not want to.  

So, Chance is now swimming one on one with a swim teacher while various other people work their buns in the water aerobics class in the next lane over.  The beauty is,  Chance is not distracted by the music or the splashing of the cardio people.  He is blissfully in his own little world not diving down for his teacher.

Are those crickets?

This morning, well after the day had begun and the house was full of the family bustling around, Chance came to me and asked,

"Are those crickets?"

I knew immediately what he was talking about since when I had passed the opened window in the living room, I had the passing thought that it was late in the morning to be hearing crickets.

I told Chance that it was a cricket and then we both went over to the window to listen. An exuberant cricket apparently had its days and nights mixed up and was just singing away.

As I sat and listened to the cricket with Chance, I marveled that I could stand at the window and listen to a cricket chirp with my deaf son. I never thought that would be a possibility when he was first diagnosed as being deaf.

I also said a prayer of thanks that Chance could hear that cricket. It was mid morning and the normal sounds of the day were present, yet, Chance had been able to pick up on the sound of a cricket chirping as he passed the window..........what a blessed wonder.

Chance and his underwater fascination

Chance is once again enrolled in swimming class. He is excited and enthusiastic about being able to swim each day.

Again, we leave the implants on when Chance first gets to class so he can receive instructions, then I take them and guard them. Someday, when implants can go under the water for swimming, diving and other lengthy wet activities, I will have to tell Chance our own version of walking up hill both ways to get to school. My sob story will vary a little from the normal story, but I will have a hardship story to share all the same.

"Chance, when you were young, your implants could not be under the water during swim class remember? And you could not hear a thing, no not a thing when those babies were out. So, dad and I had to track you and motion like mad people to try to get your attention while you swam. We would wave our arms like we were trying to land planes or stand where we thought you might look next trying to bore a hole in your head with our stares so you would turn and look at us. Plus, we had to try to protect those implants with our very lives so that you could keep hearing.

Chance has advanced in swimming to the level where he is doing different strokes across the pool. First the teacher will tell the class to use the breaststroke, then they do something where they look like dolphins gliding through the water. Chance usually is attentive, but this year there is a lot more wait time in between swims. For some reason, the swim class Chance is in has many more children than years past. Due to this fact, the kids have to take turns swimming across the lane demonstrating their skill in various strokes. The kids who are not swimming have more time to hang out at the edge of the pool waiting for their turn. Kids being kids, this means they bob under the water to see how the kids in other swimming classes look under water etc.

The problem being of course, that Chance does not have the luxery of hearing what is being said so he has to pay extra attention. This is difficult when your head is under the water. I have found myself motioning to Chance a few times to look at his teacher so he does not miss what is coming next.

I think,

" Son, I know these other kids can bob in and out of the water at will, but that is because they can hear when the teacher calls them back to attention. You may have noticed by now, that you hear nothing in the pool since your implants are not on."

The teacher told me that Chance is doing great, so hopfully the bobbing is not hindering his swimming skills.