Now, what we've been up to. A few weeks ago, Aiden got a CT scan. It showed that there isn't a nerve in his right ear. In other words, in the simplest of terms -- in deference to ME -- he has never heard in that ear. There is no explanation, though, why he doesn't have "normal" hearing in his left ear anymore. There's nothing structural to explain that. Last week we took Aiden to the audiologist and ENT. It appears his hearing is diminishing. At the last check a few months back, they felt he heard at 40 decibels. This test on the 30th indicated he may now be hearing at 50 - 60 decibels which is pretty alarming. We are going to go have him tested again at the South Dakota School for the Deaf this coming Monday. On Thursday, we will go back to the ENT / audiologist to get fitted for a hearing aid. I think Aiden will LOVE having one. Once a week we have an outreach person from South Dakota School for the Deaf (SDSD) come into our home and help us with various things, from teaching us signs, to helping us with hearing aid information, to teaching us about deaf culture, etc. This past Wednesday, she was here and had a sample hearing aid which we were able to let Aiden try. I cried. When she turned it on, his eyes opened wide and a slow smile spread across his face. He had such a look of wonder on his face. In a quiet voice, I asked him if he could hear me, and he said yeeeaah. Then I asked if it was awesome, and he replied, "Yeah. AWESOME!" He kept wanting to use it again and again during her entire visit. Suffice it to say, I'm eagerly looking forward to getting him a hearing aid. Unfortunately, insurance covers none of it, and they're upwards of $5000. But, it will be worth every penny to see that face again and know how much his world will open up!
Other than doctor's visits, (Aiden was also at our GP a while back because for a couple of days about 60% of his body was covered with hives. Sheesh.) we've been having fall fun. The boys have loved being outside and "helping" dad. They're slowly getting better about playing together: longer periods of time, fewer fights, some laughter. It's a work in progress. And, of course, the boys went trick-or-treating. They loved it. We hit about a dozen houses with both boys, walking around our court; then Dad went on with Aiden while Ethan and I came back to the house to hand out candy. Dad and Aiden were gone a long time and made a haul! Ethan was content to greet the kids at our house and help me hand out treats. A lot of kids came out as the weather was gorgeous! Then, when Aiden finally came home, he insisted on handing out the goodies. He gave everybody their candy bars and would give them a "wekkum" when they said thanks. He's growing up so fast. :'( He has even slept through the whole night a few nights -- staying in his OWN bed! I'm afraid he's going to be in school before I know it. Ethan, too, is changing too fast. He's understanding so much of what we say and is starting to try to say quite a few words. I say try as he doesn't enunciate well, but we know what he means. Bye bye, help, Mom (just shy of 1 million times a day), no, shoe, light, stars, poop, drink...etc. He can even say, unprompted, "Iiii, laaaah, oooo!" Which is supposed to be, "I. Love. You." To the "untrained" ear, it might not sound like much, but trust me, he's talking. ;) He seems to be starting to form an attachment to us but will probably always be very gregarious and people-oriented, something we'll have to be aware of out in public, especially in large groups.
It's hard to believe that the holidays are almost upon us. I will go to school on a Friday. BV doesn't have school on the 12th, so the next week will be a 4 day week. The week after that? Thanksgiving!! This will be an amazing Christmas season!
