Cochlear Implant

For those of you who may not have already heard, my dad has his initial consultation appointment with a cochlear implant specialist yesterday.

After his appointment he sent me a text message that read: "I am good to go for the next step, MRI, then surgery. They will submit to insurance to see if they will pay. Dr. said this should really help me. This is a long process and may take a while. Overall I'm totally encouraged."

If you would like to learn more about a cochlear implant, because maybe this process with my dad has peaked your interest visit the website that is linked to the title of this blog (hopefully this will work by clicking on my blog title) and watch the video on the left hand side, it is very informative.

Our only concern at this point is the recovery time that will take place after the surgery. The healing time is usually around a month and that is a long time for my Daddy to be off of work. Please pray that BNSF is compassionate and understanding during this time of healing and recovery for my Dad. Also, he basically has to retrain his ear/brain to hear. The doctor is encouraged that since he lost his hearing recently that this should not be a long process and is expecting a 3-6 month rehabilitation process.

Whether or not the insurance decides to pay is really not a contributing factor at this point, my parents have decided that no matter the cost, they ARE going to have this done. It will improve my dad's overall life by just being able to hear again. He will FINALLY be able to understand what our little girlie girls (Mia, Jules and Atlee) are saying when they talk to their Papa instead of always needing an interpretation.

My mom, sister and I went to a seminar put on by the Fort Worth Cochlear Implant Support Group a few weeks ago and got to speak with several cochlear implant wearers which encouraged us that this would be a great thing for my dad and that his rehabilitation process would be the "hardest" time for him because frustration can occur if you do not have patience. Please pray that this time will go smoothly as well for my dad and that he will be patient in re-learning all sounds.

I will let you know when he has scheduled his surgery so that you (my prayer warrior friends) can be praying for him on that day as well.

Praise God for researchers and doctors who have come up with such a wonderful miracle for those who have lost their hearing and that my dad is a candidate for just such a miracle.