The Candidacy Evaluation Continues...

We are off to Edmonton tomorrow, for appointments, consultations and more appointments...
She is a CI candidate according to her profound hearing loss in both ears however we still need to go through a few more appointments before they tell us that she is definitely a CI Candidate.

Here is what we are in for...

Tuesday-
9-10- Sienna's hearing test (Glenrose)
10-11- Speech assessement (Glenrose)
11-12- CI Consultation (Glenrose)
3:00- appointment at the Wildrose to check Sienna's hearing aids

Wednesday-
9-12 - CI Consultation (Glenrose) (without kids)

Thursday-
8:00-?? CT scan at the U of A where they need to sedate her

Friday-
9-12 CI Consultaion (Glenrose) (without kids)
1-2 Social Worker (Glenrose)
3:00- The Wildrose Audiology Clinic is having a Kids Party for all the kids who wear hearing that they work with.

It'll be a very informative week, we will be reviewing the risks, pros, cons, statistics, etc... of cochlear implants.

We would like to thank Darcy and Lisa, Matante Yvonne and Tracey, in advance for helping us out this week in Edmonton, your kindness means everything to us.

I will keep you posted!

The "joys" of Hearing Aids

HMMMM.... what can I say about hearing aids?!?!?

For anyone who has a child with them,
I'm sure you can relate!

***Feedback, feedback, feedback

does it ever end??

***seems like just when one is working....

the other gives us problems?!?!

*** "WOW, do they ever taste good!?!"

(she sure knows how to get my attention quickly,
especially when I'm on the phone, or cooking supper....never fails)

" Oh! this is where they go, Mom!"

Besides all of the daily nuissances,

**she turns her head to our voices

**she babbles alot more with them on

**she is now doing the "O" formation with her mouth

and every so often the sound "ooooo" comes out, YOUPI!

**we are stimulating the auditory nerve in preparation

for a cochlear implant

Better Hearing and Speech Month

I just thought I would share with you that it is...
BETTER HEARING AND SPEECH MONTH
MAY 2009

For over 75 years, May has been designated as Better Hearing and Speech Month. This month provides an opportunity to educate and inform others about the importance of good hearing, the social and emotional implications of hearing loss, and the available solutions for those who suffer from hearing loss. One of the most commonly unaddressed health conditions in America today, hearing loss affects more than 31 million Americans, most of whom are below retirement age.

Raise your hand to support hearing health and take action to spread the word about hearing loss in your community.

Hearing Loss Facts

** 1 out of 10 Americans have a hearing loss - that's more than 31,000,000 people1
** 3 out of 1000 children are born with hearing loss - 1.4 million children have hearing loss in the United States
**Children with hearing loss who are identified and receive early intervention prior to 6 months of age develop significantly better language ability than children identified after 6 months
**15% of "baby-boomers" ages 45-64 have hearing loss

**29% of people over age 65 have hearing loss
** The majority (65%) of people with hearing loss are below retirement age
**It's estimated that 6.2 million people use hearing aids - per the Better Hearing Institute, 5-10% of people with hearing loss do not benefit from hearing aids, but could benefit from an alternative treatment such as an implantable hearing solution instead

"Even a very slight hearing loss can have an impact on your daily life," said Dr. Jerry Punch of the Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, and the Oyer Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Michigan State University. "Hearing loss is treatable, and there is no reason for anyone to miss all the important sounds of life."

Tiny...tiny...tiny, always will be!

We just had Sienna's measurements taken,

we do every 6 weeks....

May 5th , 2009
weight: 16 lbs. 8 oz.
height: 28 3/4 "

No weight gain from March 24th but...
she did grow 0.6 cm, YOUPI!

CMV does cause poor growth...
however, I'm sure
her mom and dad's size
may have a little something

to do with her being

tiny...tiny...tiny!

Cochlear Implant Candidate

We received the news on April 14th, 2009 that Sienna is a Cochlear Implant candidate. We still have a few more tests to do to make it official. She needs a CT Scan, booked for May 30th and she needs to meet with a few more specialist before we can make our decision whether this is what we want for Sienna.

We are researching as much as we can, to find out about the risks, the pros and the cons. It is not easy when this life-altering decision for our girl is placed in our hands. All I have to say is thank goodness for the Internet. I have found all sorts of information through websites, forums and blogs. I would like to thank all of you out there for sharing your stories, your trials and tribulations in regards to your child's hearing loss and cochlear implant. You have helped us out enormously, being from a small town, it is sure comforting to know that we are not alone in this process and that there is hope for our little girl to hear one day.

Sienna's history

It has been a long haul for the StJean family. Born August 28th, 2007, a month premature, Sienna spent 2.5 weeks in the NICU. In the following weeks, she passed the newborn hearing sreening test. Up until 6 months old, we had no concerns. Then we noticed weak muscle tone and she fell off her growing chart, born in the 10-25 percentile she descended into below the 3rd percentile. We soon began seeing an early childhood interventionist.

From June 2008 until December 2008, Sienna was under investigation, why are these things happening to our little girl? In the summer of 2008, we started noticing her hearing loss. The first wakeup moment was when I returned from grocery shopping, I called her name and she did not respond. She is a mommy's girl, I knew if she had heard my voice, she would have turned without hesitation. By the time we were referred to an audiologist, an ENT, a test was done, an ABR was done... we finally were told on December 19th, 2008, the life-altering news, our little girl is deaf in both ears. Thankfully, impressions were taken on that following Monday. She was fitted with pink hearing aids on January 14th, 2009 when she began to hear.

The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton Alberta has played an instrumental part in taking care of our family. We began our visits in December 2008, over the Christmas holidays, someone from the hospital called us everyday, to see how we were doing. After extensive report analyzing, our Pediatrician at the Glenrose suspected Congenital Cytomegalovirus as the culprit for Sienna's health concerns. Just last week I received a call, they did a never before done, high-tech procedure, they checked her newborn blood spot for CMV. It came back positive. It's a relief to know that we finally have found the reason however CMV is a very complicated virus. If you would like more information about the virus, please click on the link to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Our journey has just begun. At 19 months, we know why, now we need to focus on having our little girl walk and of course having her hear with her two little ears she was born with.