Update - Hearing May 2015

Thomas completed his 5th surgery on his ears in December.  We had a out post op follow up in January and things looked good, which isn't surprising.  Typical Thomas though begins to reject tubes within the first six months and we have pain, lots of gooey drainage, hearing loss, etc.  His surgery was on Dec 11, 2014 with a hearing loss of:

Sept 2014                                   Dec 2014

The goal to be in normal hearing range is in the grey shaded area.  As you can see, he showed some substantial hearing loss in September and then had a rapid decline to December.  He has always had some level of hearing loss even with the tubes, but it was never as bad as it was in December.  We immediately did surgery to replace the tubes that were not working.

January 2015, we had our post op follow up and things looked good.  Here is the hearing results:

January 2015

So, as you can see, we are pretty much in the grey shaded area at all levels but one.  At the time the audiologists explained to me that this is the best it would get for him based on his history.  She explained that the tube sitting in the canal will prevent his ear from correctly processing that lowest tone.  We were happy and just prayed that his tubes would continue to work and his body would be more accepting of these tubes.  The ENT tried a different kind in hopes that this would be the case.

We are set to follow up every six months unless he begins experiencing pain or showing signs of hearing loss again.  We had a follow up appointment yesterday and it was amazing!!  Here is the results of his hearing test yesterday.

May 27, 2015

Do you see what I see?  Yes, he is in all the grey shaded area!!  For the first time in his life, his hearing is awesome!!  I might also mention that he went swimming in a pool and the beach this past weekend and accidentally got water in his ears and there were no tears.  We have been struggling with his ears since the day he was born and last year was definitely one of the worst years we have had with them.  Today, I feel very optimistic that his ears may not be a major concern for a while (maybe a long while). 

Thank you to each and every one of you for all of your prayers and support.  Prayers work! God works!!  God has an amazing plan for Thomas and I can't wait to see it all unfold. 

He also had his annual with our pediatrician the end of last month and all checked out from her perspective.  He currently weighs 34 lbs and is 40.25 inches tall and is progressing well, BMI is still under the average and is good.  We did discuss possibly getting him back into PT due to tightness in his neck and the unevenness of his shoulders. 

Next week, we have his annual appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologists.  He has Duane syndrome, which to a 5 year old, means I can do cool things you can't with my eyes.  We are praying his vision is still good and that he is continuing to compensate well. 

Up on the lists for follow ups, Neurosurgeon, Orthopedics (possibly Shriner Hospital) and Endocrinologists.     

In August, he will begin Kindergarten at the BIG school and he is so excited.  I am excited and nervous as well.  I know he will do well and I have confidence that the school will do all they can to protect as well as educate Thomas to the best of their ability.  It definitely helps that he is the 3rd from my point of view because I have been at their school now for five years and I have come to know and love so many of the teachers and staff.

But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Luke 18:16