Over the past few months, the idea of Nolan hearing brought me to tears. Today, at several points throughout my day, I began getting choked up and had to force my thoughts elsewhere so I wouldn't begin bawling. But this evening, as I watched my little boy hear for the first time, I could do nothing but laugh with a giant smile plastered onto my face. The joy that I felt in that moment is something I wish I could bottle up and remember forever!
The audiologist put Nolan's implant on his ear and hooked it up to the computer, beginning the mapping process. Nolan showed no reaction and we began to talk amongst ourselves, watching the screen and waiting. The beeps stopped and we assumed he was taking a break. The audiologist went in and out of the room a few times and sat tinkering with the computer. Out of nowhere, Nolan began bawling. We all jumped, completely startled.
"He is hearing," the audiologist announced.
Nolan looked up at me with wide eyes and tears rolling down his cheeks, then he buried his head in his hands and refused to look up. Tori, Audra, and I all exchanged looks.
"You turned it on?! He can hear us?!"
Between the giddy feelings of happiness that Nolan could hear combined with the disbelief that he had turned the implant on without warning us, we laughed. We laughed, and laughed, and laughed. I kissed Nolan and rubbed his back and tilted his head up to look at me. As the audiologist turned the volume down so it wouldn't frighten him so much, Nolan began pointing at his ear and then he began to laugh too.
After he had a chance to calm down, I held his face in my hands and said over and over again, "I love you, I love you, I love you". My baby heard me. He may not know what those words mean yet, and he may not even realize yet that what he is hearing are words, but I signed it as I said it and I kissed his cheek and he knew what I was telling him.
The implant is at a very low setting right now so he can get used to it without it upsetting or scaring him. In 4 days we turn it up, in 8 days we turn it up even more, and in 12 days we return and they do another session of mapping.
Nolan is lying beside me fast asleep. I am sitting here typing on my computer, giddy with excitement. How could anyone not believe in God when He has worked miracle after miracle in this boy's life. I know without a doubt that He has big plans for Nolan. I am overwhelmed with awe right now. One moment he had never heard anything before and just like that, he hears. That is nothing short of a miracle.
Thank you to each and every person who believed in him. Thank you to those who donated, who advocated, and who prayed for him. Hundreds of people came together to make this possible. You have no idea how much that means to me and how much your love and support is going to affect Nolan's future. My eyes are welling up with tears just writing this. Grateful does not even begin to express how I feel. Thank you.
"He is hearing," the audiologist announced.
Nolan looked up at me with wide eyes and tears rolling down his cheeks, then he buried his head in his hands and refused to look up. Tori, Audra, and I all exchanged looks.
"You turned it on?! He can hear us?!"
Between the giddy feelings of happiness that Nolan could hear combined with the disbelief that he had turned the implant on without warning us, we laughed. We laughed, and laughed, and laughed. I kissed Nolan and rubbed his back and tilted his head up to look at me. As the audiologist turned the volume down so it wouldn't frighten him so much, Nolan began pointing at his ear and then he began to laugh too.
The implant is at a very low setting right now so he can get used to it without it upsetting or scaring him. In 4 days we turn it up, in 8 days we turn it up even more, and in 12 days we return and they do another session of mapping.
Nolan is lying beside me fast asleep. I am sitting here typing on my computer, giddy with excitement. How could anyone not believe in God when He has worked miracle after miracle in this boy's life. I know without a doubt that He has big plans for Nolan. I am overwhelmed with awe right now. One moment he had never heard anything before and just like that, he hears. That is nothing short of a miracle.
Thank you to each and every person who believed in him. Thank you to those who donated, who advocated, and who prayed for him. Hundreds of people came together to make this possible. You have no idea how much that means to me and how much your love and support is going to affect Nolan's future. My eyes are welling up with tears just writing this. Grateful does not even begin to express how I feel. Thank you.
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