Hearing Loss

I learned last week that Tyrin has a bilateral hearing loss causing him to be deaf in both ears. He was tested at birth and several times since. This latest test was called ABR and looked at his brainstem response (see his picture below). Here is some of the info about his diagnosis:

Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by malformation or damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve. Most often, sensory cells in the inner ear have been lost or damaged. Sensory cells in the inner ear change sound into electrical signals which are sent on to the auditory nerve then interpreted by the brain. Distortion of sound may accompany sensorineural hearing loss. Most people with sensorineural hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids or a cochlear implant.

The audiologist took a mold of his ear to fit him for hearing aids, which we hope will give Ty the ability to perceive more sounds around him including speech.

Hearing loss can be caused by illness, injury, or genetic factors. The cause of 50% of hearing loss remains unknown.

There are a lot of decisions and challenges ahead, but I'm confident in the amount of resources available.
I really appreciate all the love and support offered by friends and family.

Anderson Family

We had a family baby shower yesterday with the Andersons. It was great for Tyrin to meet everyone, especially his Great Grandma Glorian. The food and gifts were wonderful. I'm surrounded by such amazing women in this family!

Visit from Ben

It was good for Ty to see his dad and for Ben to finally meet Tyrin. I wasn't expecting him, so the whole weekend kinda feels like a blur. We basically just spent time getting reconnected and the two of them started getting acquainted. Ben was really good with him - singing and speaking in French for most of the weekend. (check out this video of them) It made me look like a fool for reading little red riding hood to him in French for the past couple weeks!
I'm not sure what the future holds. Ben returned to Boston and mentioned that he would like to see Ty on a monthly basis. Maybe he will end up in MN again someday, but for now we just decided to continue on as is (...a complicated mess!) I guess we'll take it one day at a time.

Best Baby Ever!

We met up with Amy, Patty and John at Panera. So good to catch up and see them! Congrats to Patty, who has published her first book: Living Gratitude. I miss the days when we used to frequent McCoys for a few beers. Much has changed in the last year. I'm sure that once I feel more comfortable with the new routine and responsibility, I'll figure out how to revive my social life! For now, I feel lucky to have the BEST BABY EVER!!

Justin's birthday

My favorite 8 year old!
He is an awesome hockey player - so proud of this little dude.

New friends

Tyrin met his new friend Enoch! We went to lunch with Thompson and Hannah so the boys could be introduced...and so we could catch up on everything. They are such wonderful people - I'm excited for Tyrin and Enoch to build a friendship over the years. It was quite funny that they both were sleeping in the car seats for most of the time. Oh, the life of a baby!

Medica visit

It was super fun to visit work with Ty! Here is a picture of him with Monica. I'll be back at work soon, which is so crazy to me. I really like being home.

Grandma's birthday

My mom had several birthday celebrations this year - doesn't she look great?! It's fortunate that she is feeling better and was able to enjoy time with friends and family. She went to lunch with her girlfriends on the actual day (Feb 18) and then came over for cake afterwards so some of the women could meet Ty. We had a pizza party here a week later - Nate and Lori picked up Papa Murphys and we had delicious cupcakes too!

Bath Time

Tyrin had his first full bath last week - it was quite the event!
His expressions were priceless.