I'm Back!

Wow, have I been a horrible blogger!!! Even though I am super busy these days (job hunting) and the holidays are coming up, I hope I'll do a better job keeping this thing updated!
That being said, I'll keep this one short and sweet! :)
This morning Harper actually asked Luke "Where's Mama?" I was in the shower and heard her and almost passed out! This weekend she also started nodding her head and saying yes when you ask a question. I am so amazed by her progress!
Last week she had her first speech evaluation since starting speech therapy. Her baseline scores put her at a 3-6 month level but this test put her at age level 15-18 months! Can you believe it??? Only 20 weeks of therapy and she's scoring within her age group!

One Scary Night

Saturday night we were so excited to watch the Alabama/Virginia Tech game! Luke had been looking forward to the beginning of college football....well, probably since the last game last year. Our friends Cory and Linsy came over to watch and my sister had popped in for a minute. Harper was in typical Harper-mode. She had Cory and Linsy's shakers running around the living room. We were all eating hot dogs so she was going around to each of us so that we could give her bites of bread. She came up to me to get another bite of bread and she stiffened up and fell in the floor. Her falling down was nothing unusual but her eyes kept fluttering and I noticed that she had pooped in her diaper at the same time. I picked her up to go change her and her eyes kept fluttering. I called the pediatrician on-call but ended up calling 911 because she couldn't hold her head up. We all went outside to wait on the ambulance. Harper would cry, then her eyes would drift off to the side, then snap back to normal. I was absolutely terrified.
By the time the ambulance got there I noticed that she was burning up. They had no thermometer on the ambulance, had no motrin/tylenol, and couldn't start an IV. I happened to have some motrin in the diaper bag (thank you God) and gave her a dose on the ride to Children's Hospital. They also weren't concerned when Harper kept drifting to sleep which is TOTALLY unlike Harper.
When we arrived at the hospital her fever was 103.5 after the motrin. They gave her another dose of Tylenol, took a urine sample (through a catheter, mind you), and checked her over. The doctor told us that she had a febrile seizure. Supposedly these happen when a child gets a fever within a short time frame (like 60 seconds or so). They told us that it could happen again and that it wasn't a concern if the seizure only lasts 30-60 seconds. Easy for them to say! Any longer and we should call an ambulance like we had done.
I cannot believe that her fever shot up so quickly. She had NO symptoms--no runny nose, no fever, no ear infection. I am sooooooooooo very thankful that she is okay. I know God is in control and taking care of this precious child!

Audiology Appointment

Harper had an audiology appointment Friday afternoon. She had to have another hearing test, and we had planned on buying the hearing aids and FM system. The hearing tests take place in a soundproof booth with her sitting in a high chair and an audiologist sitting in front of her. This time I sat in there with them. There is another audiologist sitting behind a semi-one way window to conduct the test. They place microphones in Harper's ears and try to get her to turn toward the sound. She is then "rewarded" by a moving pig or moving duck. In true Harper style after three or four turns, she was bored with the rewards and wouldn't turn to look anymore. The few results that they did get were consistent with her past test, so that means that her hearing hasn't gotten worse. Yay!
However, the audiologist did not want to order the hearing aids or FM system at the appointment. Because of Harper's diagnosis of enlarged vestibular aqueducts, they would like her to use the loaner aids for six more months in case her hearing drops further. If that happens, she may need a different type of aid or only one aid in her better ear.
We also discussed with her our concerns about Harper's balance issues. She said that compared to some children with EVA Harper's case isn't nearly as severe. She said that some children have to wear a helmet because their balance is so poor. Any bump on the head for children with EVA can cause a drastic drop in hearing. We are so thankful that Harper is doing so well!

Test Results

We finally got a call from the genetics clinic regarding Harper's Pendred Syndrome test. The test came back as normal. However, the counselor told me that this doesn't mean that Harper doesn't have Pendred Syndrome; it just means that this test came back negative. She has been in contact with Dr. Richard Smith at the University of Iowa which is always ranked nationally in the top 3 in otolaryngology. He said that in the next 1-2 years that there will be several more tests available that may be more conclusive targeting different chromosomes. The counselor told me that as of now Harper's diagnosis is still large vestibular aqueducts with hearing loss.

Sing-a-long

Harper LOVES music. In the last couple of weeks, she has really started to pick up on songs. Of course, she likes some more than others. Here is a rundown of what Harper is singing these days:

• Wheels on the Bus---She does some of the motions (wipers) but only sings "all through" which sounds like ahhh foo. "The wheels on the bus go round and round...." Then I point to her and she says, "ahhhh foo" and I finish "the town"!
• Ants Go Marching--She claps, stomps around, and says the "Boom boom boom boom" part. It is absolutely precious!
• The Clean-Up Song--She loves this and sings it ALL the time. She'll just be playing or sitting in her car seat singing "Up, up, up up". Maybe this is a sign that she's going to be mama's helper!

Terrible twos???

The past couple of weeks I have wondered if Harper has already entered the "terrible twos".
Harper has done a great job wearing her hearing aids---until recently. Now, if I tell her "no", do something she doesn't like, or try to challenge her while doing her speech therapy, she will pull both of her hearing aids out! She is basically saying, "I'll show you!" She realizes that this is one way that she can exert her independence and have control of the situation. In addition Harper has become increasingly impatient. For example, she wants her breakfast IMMEDIATELY after the microwave beeps. If there is a cartoon on tv/dvd player that she doesn't like, she'll point and scream at it until we change it to one she does like.
I have been worrying if this is "normal" behavior for a fifteen month old child or if this is related to her hearing loss and a sign of frustration. I had a long talk with her speech therapist today who assured me that although it is a little early, Harper's behavior is perfectly normal and very common with hearing impaired children. Thankfully, she gave me some tips to deal with Harper's new sassy attitude, but also warned that it will get worse before it will get better. I'm going to have my hands full!

One Proud Mommy

Yesterday Harper's speech therapist wanted to try a new game. She thought that Harper would be too young to catch on, but Harper proved her wrong!
Susan lined up three toys (a monkey, car, and airplane) and told Harper to get the monkey ooo ooo ooo eee eee eee and throw it in the basket. SHE DID along with the car, airplane, horse, bus, dog, and cat!!! The first round she was using the object's name along with the "learning to listen" sound. She did so well that she played the next game only with the object's name. She only missed one!!!
After only four months wearing her aids, she is listening and learning way more than I thought. I am so proud of my baby girl!!!