We Have a Date!!

Lucas will get a cochlear implant on July 19!

He will then heal up for one month after the surgery, and in August, will hear for the first time.

The implant will be "mapped" and slowly turned up in it's sensitivity until he will reportedly be able to hear sounds as quiet as a whisper...

Bring on the Mozart!

W

 Off we went to Rochester today again.  Lucas got creative about how to spend an hour and a half driving time.  Spider Man Stickers!!  Of course!!

 A fine job, of course!!

 Next up, what can the medical chair take that Lucas can give?

 This chair is down to the last drop... and Lucas wins!

 Actually, he broke into dance!  Isn't that what medical chairs are for?

 Lucas won temporarily...but Lucas was pooped by the time we reached the NYS Thruway back.

 Lots of wax was removed from Lucas's ear by Dr. Dutcher.

Even Dr. Dutcher was amazed at how Lucas instantly knew, without any tutorials, how to navigate the computer scans of his own CAT Scan images!!  By the way, Lucas is cleared for surgery for the cochlear implant in the next few weeks!!  Glory to God!!

    Lucas had a CAT Scan today at Strong Memorial Hospital as the next step in his Journey to Hearing.  We had to leave Syracuse at 5:30 AM in order to make the 7:30 AM appointment.  First stop?  The Kid's Korner as we waited for anesthesia, and the John Deere tractor had Lucas's name written all over it.

 Next stop was the Slinky, and things got a little silly...

 When the oral anesthesia began to take effect, Lucas got REALLY silly...

 ...but unfortunately, this is where things got really difficult.  The oral anesthesia was not strong enough to calm Lucas in a way that would have him lay perfectly still for 2 minutes in order to get all the pictures the doctors needed of his bone structure. The staff and I tried everything, but Lucas was very upset and crying. (Who wouldn't be when they were literally strapped and duct-taped to a table with no way to understand why?)

 Unfortunately, Lucas then had to receive intra-venous anesthesia in order to be asleep and then perfectly still for the delicate CAT Scan.  It had to be done right...a lot is riding on this!

 Things got even more difficult when no one could get an I.V. into any of Lucas's veins to administer the stronger anesthesia.  Two doctors and two nurses tried into the teens of times to find a vein that would accept the I.V...it was unbelievable!  They said this was definitely a case for the record books!  Apparently, Lucas's veins are very flat, making it extremely difficult or impossible to insert the I.V.  Finally, over an hour and many hot packs to cause dilation later, a CRN specialist was called down, and she got the job done on the second try.  Poor Lucas.  He was not at all happy.  Child Life brought a cool iPod touch down for him to play games on for a distraction...and it worked.

After it all was the best part...he got to choose what he wanted to eat from the nurses' stash after he "came to"...and of course, he went right for the Diet Coke and cookies.
Now, we'll just pray that Lucas's bone structure will support the implant...we'll find out on Monday!