Busy Week!

We have had a VERY busy, very fun week!

Sunday, May 24th we went to the beach, which is something we don't do very often because sand and a motorized wheelchair don't mix very well.  My sister was visiting from Massachusetts as well as my brother's son and his family from Colorado.  So my nephews were having a get together at the beach and we hadn't seen some of them in a very long time, so it was a golden opportunity to get together.

First photo Amanda, Gonzalo and Joseph on the Santa Monica Pier.

We met this family that had the cutest little chihuahua complete with sombrero so I had to take a picture of them!

It started getting cold so Amanda, Joseph and Gonzalo are covered up and watching the beach fun.

We stayed until dark and as we were leaving Amanda and I tried to get a photo of us with the lit up  ferris wheel in the background.

                  

Monday, May 25th we went to my brothers house for a family gathering.   My nieces and nephews prepared a song entitled, "It's Good to be a Geek" for my nephew who was celebrating his 25th birthday.  It was a great time for my brother, sister and me to be together!

            

Wednesday, May 27th we went to Disneyland with my nephew and his family from Colorado. Here they are around my mother's brick that is between Disneyland and DCA.  Amanda was very mindful of her CI and brought a baggie to put it on when we went on Splash Mountain.

             

Thursday, May 28th, we went to Disney's California Adventure with same nieces and nephews. Here we are WET after having ridden Grizzly River Run.  And here are the brave souls getting ready to take off on the Maliboomer.  I prefer to stay on the ground and take pictures.

         

Friday, May 29th we went to Anaheim Convention Center for the annual Abilities Expo.     Joseph mentioned to the Permobil people that his right front tire was making a strange clicking noise.  They replaced BOTH front tires AT NO CHARGE!  We had never seen a wheelchair jack before.  It was fascinating!

      

And tomorrow, Monday, June 1st Amanda is going to Universal Studios with her 8th grade class for the end of the year trip.  She wrote a new blog entry about it yesterday. amandakristineconde.blogspot.com

I posted a lot more pictures on facebook.  Go to www.facebook.com to sign up.  You can find me by my email: jenniferbrunoconde@sbcglobal.net.  My ID is jenniferbrunoconde.  

We had a great week!  But we're TIRED!

Deaf Day @ Disneyland March 14, 2009

Amanda, her dad, Gonzálo and her brother, Joseph went to Deaf Day at Disneyland on Saturday, March 14, 2009.  

It's been 6 months since Amanda's cochlear implant was activated and her brain is still working to make sense of what she's hearing in noisy environments.  She doesn't always share freely about what she can hear, so it's exciting when she volunteers information.

When she got home, she told me that she heard the music, actors singing and speaking in the live stage play, "Aladdin" in Disney's California Adventure.  She sat up close and was especially excited to hear the Genie's voice.  :-)

Amanda used a sport band to be sure that her processor stayed firmly in place on the fast rides.  It was cold and she also kept her sweatshirt hood on most of the day.  

She posted additional Disney photos on her facebook page.  

It has been an exciting 6 months adventure and we're looking forward to the next 6 months.  Her PE teacher, Lindy texted me the other day to say that Amanda kept saying she heard a pager or something ringing.  Lindy tried to locate what it was, but couldn't figure it out.

Later she sent me another text message to say she had finally figured out what it was that Amanda had been hearing.  It was birds outside.  :-)

Jennifer's son, Trevor visits

Here we are at Disney's California Adventure where we had a few hours to play in the park with my son, Trevor.  He will be on the Disney Cruise Line on the Magic for  6 months.  So if you happen to be going on a cruise and end up on the Magic look for Trevor as Entertainment Host.

Behind us is Hollywood Tower of Terror as Amanda poses with Trevor.   In the next photo is Amanda's brother, Joseph, her dad, Gonzálo, me, Trevor and Amanda in front.

It was Amanda's first visit to Disneyland and California Adventure since her CI was activated 2 months ago.  She still can't identify any sounds but knows she hears "something."  If it's turned up a little too loud, she gets twitching.  If it's turned down to avoid the twitching, she hears soft sounds.  Sigh.  

Her next mapping is November 14th and an Advanced Bionics audiologist will again be in attendance to see if she can help figure out why the twitching is still present, why Amanda can't hear her own voice and to assist in finding an appropriate map. 

Amanda's surgeon has authorized an xray of her head to see what's going on in there (smile)  so as soon as we hear from radiology we'll get that scheduled.

Amanda continues to enjoy hearing whatever it is that she's hearing, wears her processor faithfully and has a positive attitude about the whole thing.

Amanda at DCA-Last video clip before activation

Here is a video clip of Amanda and me at Disney's California Adventure (DCA)  in Anaheim, CA.  It was taken July 27, 2008, two days after Amanda's 14th birthday. We were there smack dab between her cochlear implant surgery and her initial stimulation (also known as hook up or activation.)  We are in line waiting to ride the new ride, Toy Story Mania, for the first time. 

She has been going to DCA ever since it opened February 8, 2001 when she was 6.  She has always enjoyed going to Disneyland and DCA even though she cannot hear anything.  There's certainly an abundance of things to experience through the other senses! When she was 10 she began asking for a CI partly so she could hear the music and the shows at the parks.

She wanted to go for her birthday (See post dated Tuesday, July 29, 2008 for photos) so we decided to videotape some of it to document her last quiet visit to Disneyland and DCA.  I purposely fiddled with the sound alternating between the natural resonance and the soundlessness Amanda has experienced for 14 years.

Disneyland/DCA 15 days before Amanda's activation

Here we are at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure 15 days before Amanda's CI activation date!  FUN DAY!

Here is Amanda with her new pink iPod!

 

Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney's California Adventure-FUN New Ride and one that Joseph could go on!

Amanda is sitting in the first "A" in CALIFORNIA  just outside the entrance to DCA. You can see Disneyland behind her.

Here we are at the Mickey Floral just inside of Disneyland.