In the winter of 2007, Miss Kat lost even more hearing. I remember taking her back to school after an audiology appointment and telling everyone that she was officially Deaf now. Up until that point she had been "hard of hearing", but at that appointment she crossed the line to "severe". She was around 80 db in most frequencies. At the lowest (450 hz) Miss Kat still was "moderate" but in the speech frequencies, she was Deaf.
It was at this point that I started considering a cochlear implant. Miss Kat had never been a candidate before so I sort of judged other parents who implanted their kids. I believed that they wanted to fix their kids. They didn't accept their children as Deaf, they wanted to make them hearing. They were lazy and selfish. I only knew one family who used CI's and signed with their children. The rest were oral only and they shunned the Deaf community. I didn't want to be like those other families. I believed that ASL was the best, natural, first language for my daughter. I believe that I am raising a Deaf adult, so I take the long view and think about what will be the best thing for her whole self, emotionally, developmentally, and spiritually, not just focusing on her "broken ears". I was on a soapbox, judging people who I didn't know, because I could. It was a decision I didn't have to make so I could say that they were wrong and live in my happy little bubble....until I couldn't.
It took a few days and a lot of thought, but I finally mentioned the idea of a CI to my husband. I asked if he thought we should look into it. He immediately said yes, and that he thought it would be a very good thing for Miss Kat. I was so confused. Had he been pro-implant this whole time? He just said "It is a technology. It is neither good or bad. Our philosophy and home won't change, just what she uses to hear with. It is just a much more powerful hearing device, and it happens to have to be inside her." I was shocked again by how insightful and grounded J.D. always is. A CI wouldn't define us. It doesn't define anyone. It is merely another technology. A source of amplification, a tool for my child. I felt stronger, supported by my husband, we were going to start the journey to get a cochlear implant for our daughter.
1 comment:
I just started reading your blog from the beginning because I see all of your posts on CI Circle. This particular one reminds me of my husband and how much they can surprise us! I'll never forgot what he said about our daughter when we first found out about her hearing loss..."some people have to get up in the morning and put on glasses so they can see. Camryn will have to put on hearing aids/CI so she can hear. It's no different".
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