CT all done!

Katya had a CT scan this morning. This went really well. She went out quickly with the gas and only let us know about it all for about 15min afterwards. Then she was fine and happy.

The CT is crucial to confirm she is on for the cochlear implants and there is nothing else.

We are working with the Southern Cochlear Implant program at the moment on costs for the bilateral implant. We have decided to do it but the costs are a bit hard to nail down. It started off at $25k and has drifted up to $33k. Hopefully we can see these drift back down a bit.

Now we wait to see whether what we have been told about having surgery next week comes to pass.

A really interesting CI website

This is someone's blog whose kid has had two cochlear implants.

http://momtotoes.blogspot.com/

Worth checking out to see what Katya is heading into.

Safety glasses are cool!

New walls finished

It has been a very busy few months. It feels like we're doing four jobs.

However we have now completed the new framing.

This is the new wall upstairs.

This is a frame to attach the floor boards to. Unfortunately the floor is a native wood which means it is ridiculously expensive.

These are the new walls downstairs.

What is left before building inspection is to attach the lower walls into the concrete floor, some wiring, three doorways, removal of the existing floor upstairs, construction of a half height wall, and construction of some platforms where the stairs change direction (in photo immediately above.

The supplies arrive later this week so along with possible Katya operations, work and this... it is going to be a busy time.

It is all go!!!

We have been in Christchurch for a cochlear assessment for Katya. All the specialist have concluded that the issue is not a skull issue but that Katya is just deaf.
Katya has now been accepted into the cochlear implant program. We now have a CT scan on the 10th Dec. We then hope Katya will be able to get the implants in the week before Christmas.
We are planning to get a bilateral implant (ie one in each ear). Unfortunately the government only provide one implant. We therefore have to find $25k for the second implant.
The benefits of the bilateral implant are that:
1) Better sound isolation. This means that she will be able to pick a voice out from background noise.
2) Better sound localization. This means she will be able to know where a sound comes from. This is not possible with a single implant.
3) If we don't do this now, it reduces the effectiveness of any second implant done in the future. Basically the auditory nerve needs stimulation to develop.

The cool thing about the implants are that within the next 6 months, Katya should have pretty close to full hearing. The difference is basically the difference between a laptop speaker sound vs. a high quality sound system. Still pretty good.