Today is Amanda's one month anniversary of being activated!
What a difference a month makes!
She had her 5th mapping today and so far so good!
with louder sounds
We took Goldy's collar and dog tags with us and made sure Amanda could hear them before we left the audiologist's office. She's still got some twitching going on (CLICK PHOTOS TO BIGIFY)
with louder sounds 
but...
hopefully she'll habituate
and her auditory nerve
won't be so sensitive at
some point. She has one program where the volume is clipped off before the twitching starts so that will be good for Disneyland and other loud places.
And yes, she can once again hear Goldy's dog tags. Yay!
We also had a productive day in another sense! We bought a brand new van today! We had two big old gas guzzling vans to accommodate Amanda's two brothers with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Since her 14 year-old brother, Chris passed away two years ago we decided to get a new more environmentally and economically friendly minivan . Joseph fits nicely in it, don't you think? And it is a rear entry van which we've never had so hopefully parking won't be so much of a problem! AND we don't plan to towed, ticketed or flat tired on the way to or from audiology appointments.
Amanda is eating a snack, doing her homework and watching television...with earphones on! That is a first...well the earphones part anyway! Great study habits, hmm?!
Okay...here's an update! Amanda just posted a photo entry on her blog. I had taken a picture of her on the way to pick up our new van. Remember I had said that we took Goldy's tags with us to the mapping? Well look at what's around Amanda's neck! Click it to BIGIFY. Not sure why some pictures allow you to bigify and others do not. But this one is definitely worth bigifying!
http://amandakristineconde.blogspot.com/
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12 comments:
I stayed up late waiting for your new post but it was so late. Damn time zones!
Thats Brilliant that the Condes got new van. The minivan does look roomy with Joseph in it.
Glad that Amanda's mapping is better as mine was. A month already, gosh!, I am having one month map on the 24th! and is looking forward to it.
C xx
Yay for hearing Goldie's tags! And yay for the new minivan! Gotta love that new car smell!
Beautiful van! I love the color.
Is paper crinkling also back, Amanda?
Barefoot, Jennifer?
Sheila
Hi Charlotte! Yeah, with you guys in England and us in the US, it does get wacky and difficult to manage the time difference. Good luck with your map on the 24th!
Yes, we're relieved Goldy's tags are back, Leah! When Amanda was holding them on the way to the mapping, via the van dealer, we'd forget and think Goldy was in the van. It really threw us off! And of course Amanda couldn't hear them at all. But on the way back she could.
Amanda says that paper crinkling is also back, Sheila. I can vouch that it is back in full force. She keeps telling us to shush if we're opening packages.
And barefoot? You bet! Every chance I get! In fact I've been wearing flipflops all summer if I must wear shoes, except at the gym.
And thanks you guys for the compliments on our new van! Roomy, new car smell and deep rich color. Who could ask for more?
Jennifer :-)
Hi Jennifer, I'm really happy for Amanda that she has her favorite sounds back! Watching TV with earphones on... I'm sure that is a treat for you all to see. :-) The picture of her with Goldy's collar and tags was so funny!
Love the new van! It's so fun and exciting to get new cars. Have fun with that!
Jennifer, AWESOME van! My parents had to have a huge gas guzzler for the lift for years. They finally got a Chrysler van several years ago with a side lift and they used that until my brother moved to a group home. I LOVE the rear entry van though...that is the BEST idea...no worrying about finding a great place to park!! And it looks like Joseph can just roll straight in!
Hey, great news that she's got the Goldie's tag sounds back. Yay.
Ooooh, new van is looking sharp. Everyone's happy at the Conde house. :)
Hi there,
I must say ... wow.. I was just reading your blog about Amanda's journey to hearing is amazing from nothing to something its amazing. I have only just joined the yahoo group and create my blog yesterday as I am getting the cochlear implant soon.
I noticed on the first video she doesn't talks. does Amanda talk now and still use sign language?
Well done on getting a new mini van. look slick! :)
Hi Janet,
Earphones and Amanda...not EVER a sight we thought we'd see. We're seeing them more often now. In fact Amanda and I are working on posts where you will see even more uses for earphones!
Hi Jennifer,
Yeah, so far we are very very happy with our decision to get a rear loading entry. So your parents had wheelchair vans for your brother, huh? So you fully understand the complexity of the situation.
Thinking happy thoughts for you on the 24th!
Hi Shari,
Yeah, we're stylin' around town! Amanda is really funny with the new sounds she is hearing. She's really fun to watch!
Jennifer :-)
Hello Manda! Glad you stopped in to say hello. I see you've visited some other blogs. Everyone is wonderful and a great source of information and support!
As far as Amanda's videos, perhaps you didn't go back far enough to the initial video when I started my blog.
If you go to the archives and go to the first entry on my blog dated July 6, 2008 you will see an introduction of Amanda's situation and then a few posts later you will see a series of video clips where Amanda is talking.
It isn't her preferred mode of communication, but she does have some pretty decent skills. So with more time and practice we will compare her early pre-CI video clips with what she can currently articulate.
ASL is her first language and she will always use ASL, but with the CI she will have some other options when conversing with those who don't know ASL.
I looked at your blog and am very impressed with your wedding videos. I'll follow your blog and will be anxious to hear all about your upcoming surgery and activation!
Jennifer :-)
Love the van! What is Amanda listening to on those ear phones? I am so jealous! :) Glad they are working with her and seems like she is in great hands!
Thanks, Olivia! We LOVE our new van! Amanda has been listening to all kinds of stuff on those earphones, including her favorite TV shows, Wii games, PSP, iPod, whatever. A lot of it sounds the same and she can't necessarily tell what she's hearing. Hopefully some day...but she does enjoy whatever it is she's hearing.
Jennifer
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