14 years and counting

14 years ago today Miss Kat was in surgeryfor her first cochlear implant. We had no idea how it would change all of our lives. We thought that the CI was a chance for her to regain the ability to turn when we called her name (for convenience of signing and for safety) but instead it opened doors we never could have imagined. So how did it change things? The best explanation is through an average day in our household. So what did we do yesterday? 

1. Miss Kat woke up and did her homework. (She is attending BYUI with minimal accommodations. She has an FM for her professors and gets captions on any videos.) 

2. Miss Kat had to work in the afternoon. She is a cashier at a local store she loves. (She interacts easily with the public. She even had a child with hearing loss come up to her and point out that they both have hearing devices...something we did with teens and adults when she was young. Now she is the example!)

3. Miss Kat had Institute. It is like a Bible study for young adults. (She attends church with the other "young single adults" in the area. Sometimes she brings her FM for services and when they watch movies she asks for captions.) 

4. When Miss Kat got home, we finished listening to a podcast we had started the night before. 

She has been through three sets of processors, each improving her hearing and giving her more freedom. She can now hear when she swims and Bluetooth her phone (and music) directly to her ears. She talks, she sings (badly!), she loves music, true crime, and everything psychology related. I don't know where we could be without her CIs but I know for sure it wouldn't be here.