Time to Reconnect

Some thoughts while visiting Miss Kat at her dorm on my Spring Break. 1. Teen girls can be just as messy as boys. 2. True love is listening to the playlist your child creates without complaint. 3. Kids are still physically growing at 18. I'm pretty sure she has gotten taller in the last three months. 4. Sitting in the hot tub is a great way to bond (Thank goodness for those waterproof devices! This would have been impossible in the past!)

Bye Bye Miss Kat

 

Miss Kat is headed to the dorms!!! While she has been enrolled with BYU-I for Pathways and now this fall semester online, she has made the decision to enroll full-time as a campus student. As of January 3, Miss Kat will be on her own!

She is taking her Roger Select with her and has asked for real-time captioning in her classes. She will have a doorbell with a light (so she doesn't get surprised by maintenance if her implants are off) but other than that she is headed to the dorms just like any other girl her age.

CONGRATS GIRL, YOU HAVE COME A LONG WAY!!

Meeting Friends for a Wedding

 Miss Kat returned from Africa with amazing stories and great friends. The leader she had spent the three weeks with was getting married this weekend and all the girls wanted to attend. They set up a travel plan and are road tripping out to the wedding outside of Phoenix right now!

15 years ago we had no idea where her life was headed. 13 years ago we took a chance on a cochlear implant. That decision changed everything. She hears and speaks. She laughs and chats with friends. She sings songs while joyriding with her girls.

Miss Kat heads to Africa!

 This summer Miss Kat has the amazing opportunity to spend 3 weeks on a humanitarian trip to Ghana. She will be working with a church group to build two new rooms for a school. The only accommodation she needed was an outlet to charge her cochlear implant batteries. English is the official language in Ghana (which helped guide her choice to which project she would participate in). 

If you would like to follow her journey in Africa, check out the trip's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hefy.ghanacapecoast/

Miss Kat has grown and changed so much since I began this blog. We were on a very different path before she received her cochlear implants. I really couldn't imagine being where we are today. Miss Kat has become a superstar and her ability to communicate with others is miles beyond what we ever expected!

Miss Kat turns 18!!

Hearing Marvelously!

Shortly after my post about the trouble we were having with AB, our local rep contacted me. She said that they had heard about all the trouble we had with Miss Kat's upgrade and that she wanted to work with us to make sure we got what she needed and we were satisfied. She became our direct contact and the process became so much better! She kept us informed, got the paperwork sorted out, and after just a few weeks MISS KAT GOT HER PROCESSORS!

Here is a short video of what it looked like when she was activated.

She is hearing very well. Her batteries last sooooo much longer than her Naidas! We went with the biggest rechargeable because the FM connection is already inside the processor. Miss Kat used to use the middle size with her Naidas because she needed the FM boot for her Roger, but she would have to change the battery in the evening. Even though the battery is larger, Miss Kat says that it fits on her ear much better and she finally feels comfortable wearing her CIs, glasses, and a mask.

So far our only complaints are that the processors have to be assigned to a specific ear (we miss the flexibility of the Naidas on that point) and the fact that the charger only has 3 slots (bilateral users would much rather have four!)

We plan to go tubing next week so we will find out how well the waterproof battery works soon enough. Miss Kat has not been a fan in the past because she feels like everything is too quiet. She uses the T-mic at 100% so the change to a headpiece mic makes her crazy. She needs to get used to it though because we have a big vacation coming up!

A Working Woman

Miss Kat applied for her first job today!

She did great in the interview. The manager liked her a lot and that she had a great personality and was just what they were looking for! She remarked how outgoing and friendly Miss Kat is as well.

I'm so proud of the lovely lady she is turning out to be. She is an independent, gutsy, and all-around AWESOME young woman who just happens to be deaf.