Approved!!

I am sorry it has been so long since I have updated our blog.  I really have no good excuse, so I won't try to come up with one :)  We have had a busy summer with moving (twice!) and getting settled into our new home.  We really like North Carolina and have tried to be intentional about exploring the area and seeing what our new city has to offer.  Every Saturday we hit up our local farmers market for fresh, organic produce and end our visit stopping by a gourmet donut stand to reward ourselves for our purchases ;)

We have had lots of visitors lately and still more to come.  We are so thankful to have a house that will accommodate guests and want to keep an open door policy to anyone that would like to visit.

Hattie and Aunt Tay

Kevin has been working a lot and is really enjoying his program.  We have made some great friends through his program already; it has been nice to connect with people down here.  Hattie and I have been getting into a routine with her daily therapy (done by me) and weekly visits from our Auditory Verbal Therapist.  We have also kept busy with doctor's appointments and audiology appointments; however, we do manage to squeeze in some fun too!

Recently we completed our checklist of appointments, if you will, to confirm that Hattie is a candidate for cochlear implants.  Our last hurdle has been insurance.  The FDA approves cochlear implant surgery at 12 months of age.  However, many surgeons are performing the surgery earlier because studies have shown the earlier a child is implanted the better the results and quicker they catch up with their hearing peers.  We are wanting to have surgery done on Hattie right after she turns 9 months old.  We have decided to have one implant placed at a time, with the second implant being placed 3-6 months after her first surgery.  Authorization for the first surgery was sent to our insurance company last week and we have been waiting for the results.  Every insurance company is different on their approach to this surgery and we have been prepared for a denial to be given.

Ever since Hattie was born, we have learned what it means to fully rely on God and trust His plan for her life.  I believe this is true for every parent, but especially those that find themselves faced with a child that has a disability.  We have stopped trying to make sense of her deafness, and instead trust that God has a plan for it in Hattie's future.  We have been blessed to see His hand already in so many decisions we have had to make on her behalf and in her developmental accomplishments thus far.  Our prayer, during this time, has been to give us peace with whatever decision insurance gives us and to put total trust in God.

Well, today I received an email stating that Hattie's surgery has been approved by insurance for the date we have been wanting!  We are ecstatic!  We have been waiting since she was 2 weeks old (when it was confirmed she was deaf) to get to this point.  We are so excited to know that she will be able to hear our voices in a couple months and discover the sounds all around her.

Hattie's first surgery will be on October 9th and activation of the implant (when they will turn it on) will be about 3-4 weeks after.  This will give her enough time to heal from surgery before rocking her world with sound :)  We will definitely film activation day and share the video.  Thank you to everyone that has been praying for Hattie and Kevin and I.  We are so thankful and blessed to have you all in our lives.  Please continue to pray for Hattie and her upcoming surgery.  I promise I will do a better job of posting in here!