Mentor Training 2009; Advanced Bionics; Valencia, CA

What a wonderful experience. From the incredible Advanced Bionics Staff to the other BEA Mentors, our trip was truly a blessing. I knew that I was pleased with our decision to go with Advanced Bionics implants for both of our children before this trip, but now I have no doubt that we made the best choice. When making our initial decisions, we obviously did some research, most of it involving the number of meningitis cases, implant failure rate, etc. What we did not realize during our research however, was the fact that AB outpaces its competitors in the area of technology by a long shot. All of the cochlear implant companies seem to produce a very reliable product, but the advances in AB's product are amazing to say the least. I don't have the time or the expertise to explain all of the advancements in a short post, but if you are thinking about an implant for your child, please check out the Advanced Bionics web site. There is a link toward the bottom of my blog.

While technology should steer your decision in choosing a cochlear implant, the people that make up the implant company should also serve as a rudder. I've been to many conferences throughout my professional career, during most of which I couldn't wait for the ending. However the Advanced Bionics seminar was totally different. I have never before seen such an excellent, well prepared, knowledgeable, eloquent group of presenters. From the CEO on down the line, I have never met a more gracious, sincere group of representatives.The most interesting part of our trip, was the tour of the manufacturing facility. We were allowed to see the Advanced Bionics implant assembly process. It was pretty cool to say the least. We had some fun as well. Our hosts took us to a great Italian restaurant on Friday night. I don't remember the name, but I do remember that it was GOOD.

Anyway, Advanced Bionics is not paying me to say all of this. It is the truth based upon my experience. If any parents out there have any questions please feel free to send me an e-mail.

See ya.

October 2009 : Hawkins Family Update

Max brought home his first, 1st grade report card last week. He received "E's" (excellent) in Math, Reading, Social Studies, and Spelling! Way to go Max! Stephanie and I are so proud. It still amazes me that Max could hear nothing when he was born and now he excels in school and reads at almost a second grade level.

Max is playing Flag Football this fall. He likes defense the best. This past Saturday, he "sacked" the other teams quarterback in the end zone and scored his team a safety. You can tell that Max is very proud when he pulls a flag. He always looks over to make sure that I am watching.

Claire is also doing well. She continues to make strides in her program at Vanderbilt. Her new "ear" seems to be working well and if she concentrates, she can make complete sentences. Claire knows her A,B,C,'s and she can count to 20. I'm a little more concerned with her social skills than her academic skills, but hopefully she is on the path to a "mainstreamed" childhood. I know she can do it. Claire just has her own agenda at times.

Stephanie and I are heading to Valencia, California in a couple of weeks to attend Mentor Training at Advanced Bionic's corporate headquarters. We are really looking forward to the experience. It will be fun to meet other families that share our life experiences. Learning to help others cope and make important decisions regarding hearing excites us as well. I'll give everyone a report and hopefully post some pictures when we return.

See ya!

Claire Is Officially Bi-lateral!

Well, Claire is officially "bi-lateral"! Her new ear was turned on today. As you can see from the video, it was a little loud when Kathy first turned it on. She almost started crying. However, Claire is my tough little warrior and finished today's process with flying colors. I'll keep you posted as the adjustment period continues. Everything is wonderful for now and we are expecting great things!

Claire Is Bi-Lateral !!!!

I didn't even cry this time! I'm not saying that it was easy and that I didn't have mixed feelings and fears, but I made it through this surgery more easily than the others.

My day started out fine. Stephanie stayed at home with Claire on Tuesday morning. This meant that she got to deal with a three year old until 1pm that had not eaten since 9pm the previous evening. Poor Stephanie. I was lucky enough to focus on work for a while, so the stress of Claire's upcoming surgery was kept at bay (for a while). At around 12pm on my way home to help take Claire to the hospital, I started to feel it. I felt the fear, the angst, the doubt and the sadness. I teared up pulling in to our neighborhood. The feelings subsided some during the process of getting Claire to Vanderbilt. I was distracted with the stress of getting her stuff, Claire and Max out the door. This reprieve lasted until we were led to the pre-surgery waiting room and Claire started putting on her little scrubs. The scrubs made it all real for me again. The stress built with the visit from the Child Services specialist, the nurses, the anesthesiologist and the Head Resident. I was about at my boiling point when Dr. Haynes came by to see us. Let me tell you, this guy has some seriously good bedside manner. He immediately put me at ease with his confidence. I could just see it in his eyes. Nothing bad was going to happen to my little girl.

Claire got her "happy" medicine, they wheeled her back to surgery and I was at peace (or maybe I was just really hungry). I decided after breakfast that I would fast with Claire until her surgery in solidarity. I'm not telling you this to brag, I'm telling you because it was not a very good idea. When they wheeled Claire back to surgery, I had a hard time focusing on her. I was starving. All I wanted to do was make it down to the food court! Anyway, Dr. Haynes let us know before leaving, that Claire should be out of surgery around 5:45pm. Well, what do you know? Dr. Haynes showed up in our waiting room at 5:45pm on the dot! Incredible! With prayers, family and friends, Claire and I both made it through the surgery with flying colors! The only time that the fear crept in, was during Claire's recovery time. We were mistaken about how long it would take Claire to wake up from her anesthetic and I started getting pretty worried when we were well passed my assumed "wake-up time" for Claire. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the nurses let us know that Claire was doing great and they led us back to recovery.
What a beautiful sight my baby girl was. Claire was very groggy, but she still managed a smile at her Mommy and Daddy when we walked in the room. What a strong, brave girl Claire is. She is my little warrior!

Thank you to all of our friends and family for your prayers. Thank you to God for giving Claire angels to watch over her. Thank you to Vanderbilt Children's' Hospital, Dr. Haynes and his amazing staff for doing such a wonderful job!

Claire's new implant will be activated on August 26th. Pray that all goes well so Claire will be truly bi-lateral and hearing in stereo. I'll post a video. See ya!

2 Funny Stories and an Implant Date....

First of all, Claire's surgery for her second implant is scheduled for August 11th. Keep her in your prayers.

A couple of weeks ago, Claire, Max, Stephanie and I were eating at a local "meat and three" called the City Cafe. As usual, Claire finished her meal before everyone else and decided that she wanted to wander around the restaurant. This was fine, because the City Cafe is very casual and most of the customers enjoyed watching Claire. However, not paying much attention to what Claire was doing, I did not notice that she had grabbed the check for our meal off the table. This wouldn't have been a big deal, but the next thing I knew, I saw that Claire had given our check to an innocent elderly gentleman a few tables down! Being the generous person that I am, I let him pay our tab. (just kidding)

We celebrated Max's 7th birthday this past Saturday at Crockett Park. While trying to take care of Max's guests, I noticed that he and a couple of his friends had gathered around a light post and were staring at the ground. Max saw me looking at them and called for me to come over. All of the kids pointed at the ground showing me what they thought to be a gravestone. Max insisted that a person was buried at this spot and informed me that the name of the deceased was "Electric". While this was some good reading on Max's part, I decided that I really need to teach him the difference between a gravestone and an in-ground electricity box!

See ya...

Implant # 2 Approved

The process of Claire getting a second implant seems to be going smoothly thus far. The staff at Vanderbilt gave her the thumbs up a couple of weeks ago and we received an approval from our insurance company yesterday. I don't want to make this a political blog, but our health care system here in the United States is the best in the world. I love our insurance company, I love Vanderbilt and I love Claire's medical staff. I'll let it go at that.

Claire also started occupational therapy last week. Evidently she isn't using some of her muscle groups properly, which may be affecting her speech. Her therapist thinks that Claire can catch up with around 6 months of therapy. They worked on "licking" the other day. I wondered why Claire came up to me and started licking my arm. Luckily Stephanie was there to explain it to me. I thought maybe I just smelled like ice cream!

Max is well in to his sports camp season. He completed Vandy's soccer camp a couple of weeks ago and finished Vandy's baseball camp today (in the scorching heat!). He earned a special jersey at both camps and I'm pretty sure he was the "favorite" camper at both places! I'm so proud of that little guy. He makes me feel 10 feet tall! By the way, everything that Vandy does is A+ excellent. I recommend getting your kids involved there as much as you can. Thanks to all of the coaches.

We also spoke to Edie Gibson of Advanced Bionics this week about getting involved with their mentoring program. I've never though of myself as the mentoring type, but Stephanie and I are happy to help in any way possible. Advanced Bionics has been very good to us and I have no problem recommending them to others.

Talk to you next time.

Going Bi-lateral

Well. I never thought that I would say this, but it looks like we are going bi-lateral with Claire. I still hate the thought of more elective surgery and I still don't like the idea of the extra hardware, but after much thought, many questions and one last meeting with her surgeon, Stephanie and I feel like the positives of a second implant vastly outweigh the negatives.

Some might say, "What about the science of hair cell regeneration? If you get her another implant, won't you deprive her of that technology?" As I understand it, we are still at least twenty years away from hair cell regeneration being a possibility. If she goes that long without stimulus in her left ear, her auditory nerve most likely won't work properly any more and the new hair cells would be useless (Stephanie, correct me if I'm wrong!) We also must not forget that she will miss out on twenty years of listening and language skills that she can receive with a second implant.

Others might question the risks of surgery. That is my greatest fear as well. However, Claire's doctor eased my nerves during our last meeting and explained to me again that the risks are minimal. He didn't say this, but a CI surgery has been compared to a tonsillectomy as far as risks go. Am I to deny Claire the highest quality of life because of my personal fears of a minor surgery?

Still others might say that we are tempting fate with another surgery. Well, I don't believe in fate. I believe in God and I believe that God blessed us with Claire and Max for a reason. I know that part of this reason is to give them the most love, the best care and the greatest set of opportunities that they can possibly imagine. I believe that a second implant is part of this process for Claire and I know that God will take care of her. I don't mean to preach at you, that's just what I believe.

So long for now. I'll keep you posted. I'm guessing that the surgery will take place late this summer. Keep us in your prayers.

Greg