Thursday, January 8, 2009

An Incredible Miracle

Today I witnessed the most incredible miracle - Titus got his cochlear implant turned on this morning.

When we arrived this morning, we had to spend 45 minutes going through all the paperwork, how to work the receiver, putting in the batteries, etc. There is a lot of information to soak in, but I know it will become second nature in a few days.


Then Janae programmed the receiver. She put the the receiver on his ear and had a series of beeps at different frequencies from soft to loud. She told us, this will be our first indicator if he hears the beeps.


And, it was like the world stood still as watched him intently for any sign of recognition.


And all of the sudden, Titus looked up, jerked his head back and started looking around. He could hear the beeps. We were all thrilled as Titus continued to look around for where the sound was coming from.


After the receiver was programmed, we put it on his left ear, and turned it on. It has 4 programs and it's on the first which still keeps sounds soft for him, but he started looking all around for where that noise was coming from. Becky got in his face and told him she loved him, and he just smiled. Noah did the same, and the biggest grin broke out on Titus' face. He then got a little cranky since it was naptime and we had woke him up, but he couldn't figure out where that crying baby was coming from. But, he could hear his own voice.


My son can hear. Do you know what that means for him? He has gone from having 3 senses to 4 . He can hear the sound of his father's and mother's voice. He can hear us now when we sing to him. He can hear all his brothers (and boy can it be noisy at times). He can hear us when encourage him. He can HEAR! It's nothing short of a miracle.


All week I have thought about those miracles in the Bible when Jesus would heal someone. And I had to think, how did the person feel to go from blind to total sight, from lame to walking and leaping, from leprous to clean. It was never a gradual process - it was immediate. Like turning on a switch. It was like that today. All I can say is thank you God. My heart is full.






This last shot gives you a good perspective of all the devices. The piece around his ear is the receiver - it has tiny microphones in it that take the sound and transmit through the coil. The coil attaches to a magnetic piece that holds it on his head. The internal piece also has a magnetic. (And yes, the boys have already attached a refrigerator magnet and chip clip to his head just to see if the magnet on the inside really works.) Then clipped to his clothes is the battery pack. Eventually, the battery pack will be part of the receiver around his ears, but since his ears are so small right now, it's a lot to load up on his ear.


Over the next few weeks we will take Titus through the 4 programs, letting him adjust to each one which will increase the level/frequency of the sound that he hears. And, then next month, they will program some more. Over the next few months, they will fine-tune and program the receiver. And, then sometime this summer, we should be able to get his right ear done.


It's amazing.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

You guys have made a grown man cry right in his cube at work. PRAISE GOD!!!

Thanks for sharing,
Hank O

Anonymous said...

You don't know me, but my family is in Searcy, AR, and I've been following your blog for a long time, praying for your family. I am so thankful to see the faithfulness of Almighty God in your family. I truly appreciate that you've allowed complete strangers to witness the miraculous! An amazing gift! I look forward to meeting you some day when we all make it home.
Thank you for sharing your faith and your family.

Brad and Jessica said...

Yeah Titus! Praise God!!! This is amazing, wonderful, beautiful news.
JessicaCo (from Dillon forum)

Breenette said...

What a miracle! Thanks for sharing!
When my brother in law got his implant (as an adult) one of the things he commented on was that in those first weeks he went from hearing NOTHING (stone deaf) to hearing the whir of a ceiling fan so loud to him that he was confused by the sound and what could be causing it.
This is an amazing medical advance and I am soo happy for you guys that Titus was a good candidate for this! You must be overwhelmed with joy!

NanaBlue said...

I can only imagine your joy!! I loved hearing the story of the boys and the refrigerator magnet!!! Ha!! Boys will be boys!!! What a blessing you all and Titus are for one another and what a blessing you and Titus' story have been to me and all who hear it!! Love you guys!!!