Drink and Eat

Before we knew that Lauren was hearing impaired, we decided that we would teach her 'baby sign language' (much like all moms do in the early infant years). We taught her the basics like, drink, eat, more, sorry, please, help, ball, and thank you. She used them a lot and it made our life a lot easier.

After we found out about the hearing issues, we had to make a decision. We either had to continue to sign, do a combination of signing and verbal, or do a straight verbal approach in the household. In a nut shell, we either had to teach Lauren to sign and that would be her way of communicating, or we had to teach her to talk and that would be her way of communicating. Either way, we had to make a decision on a method and use it in our household consistently. We obviously chose the verbal approach which meant she was no longer allowed to sign. She had to ask for things and strengthen her language. It wasn't a hard transition and she took to it very well. The interesting thing is that she is now four and I can't get her to drop two of her signs. For some reason, she continues to use the sign for drink and eat. It never fails. Every time she says drink or eat, she sign it, too. She dropped every other sign like a bad habit and never looked back. I wonder why these continue to hang around.

Any theories as to why? I'd love to hear them.

Triggers

I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but as a mom of a special needs child, I tend to be an emotional roller coaster. That is to say that there are good days and there are bad days when it comes to staying positive. It's like an ebb and flow depending on what's going on that particular month, week, or day. Some times I can go months without a change in my attitude. Other times I feel like its a daily battle.

I've noticed recently that I will see something that 'triggers' the not so good feelings that seem to creep up every once in a while. I never know what will spark these thoughts. I just see something and my mind goes off in sixteen different directions. For example, I was at a function the other day where I saw a group of middle school girls walking together and talking. They were all carrying their books the same way. They were all hugging their books across their chest with both arms. For no apparent reason, I flashed forward to when Lauren will be that age doing that same thing. I couldn't help but get a lump in my throat wondering if she will be able to do that with only having full function of the left side of her body. Why do I care how she holds her books? Why is that causing me to get sad? Why does a sight of kids carrying books trigger something years down the road? I have no idea, but I hate it.

Maybe it's a coping mechanism. There were a lot of things that happened to Lauren that were out of my control. All the trauma that occurred during birth happened so fast that it made our head spin. I wonder if my brain is trying to think of all the things that could happen so I can have some time to address them properly. Who knows? I am going to pretend that this is just a phase that I will grow through in time. I am realistic enough to know that thoughts will always creep in. I am a mom and I will always worry about my kids. That's no different from any other parent out there. I just hope that the frequency of these triggers decrease over time. I would be nice to get off the roller coaster some day.

Looking for a Wagon

Does anyone know where I can get a cheap wagon in good condition? I am looking for one for Lauren's teacher. She has three kids in the class that have severe and multiple disabilities. There are ten hearing impaired kids in the classroom at any given time. It's harder to get all the kids out and about when a few of them need extra assistance due to other physical disabilities. If I could get a wagon in her hands, trips to the cafeteria, the playground, and even fire drills would be easier on everyone. And considering what she does for each of those kids everyday, it's the least I can do.

Any ideas????

There's No Way....

There is no way that I slept in until almost 1:00 today. Even though Ty came in and woke me up and my phone said 12:44, there's no way that it happened. I even accused Ty of changing the time on my phone to play a joke on me.

I haven't slept this long since my college days. It's only Friday. I could see myself maybe doing this on the weekend, but Friday? Who does this? Oh well, I'll take it. Not complaining, that's for sure.

Off to get some lunch, I have apparently missed breakfast....

Happy Veteran's Day

In honor of Veteran's Day, I thought I would take this opportunity to thank my veteran. This is a picture of Tyler during active duty in the Marine Corps. It was his military ID from the early 90's. I am so glad he kept it. I am not sure he will feel the same once he sees what I did with it.

Happy Veteran's Day, Tyler!!!

Breakfast Anyone?

I had a little start of a headache this morning. So in the interest of prevention, I got up to take some Motrin around 5 a.m. I got to the kitchen and felt some crunching under my feet. It was dark and at that point I was too tired to care about it. I figured it was some dirt from my softball cleats. I had a game last night and I thought maybe some dirt fell off of them and I didn't notice. I went to bed and didn't think another thing about it.

This morning I went into Lauren's bathroom to help her brush her teeth. Again, I felt the same crunching under my feet. I looked down and didn't see anything in the little rug under the sink. So, I took my foot and brushed whatever it was onto the floor so I could see what it was first hand. To my surprise, it was Rice Krispies. I went to the kitchen and again found Rice Krispies all over the floor. Apparently, Lauren got a hold of the cereal container and was walking around the house eating (and spilling) Rice Krispies. I never saw the container in her hand so I never even realized she was doing it. Either she is a super stealthy person or I am clueless. Either way, I need to get the vacuum.

Best News...EVER

Lauren went to Chapel Hill on Thursday to get her new hearing aids. They work really well. They are a brand new kind that allow her to hear almost all higher frequencies. A task that regular hearing aids have not been able to do until now. You would think that was the best news ever. No, it gets better.

The financial lady came to see Tyler right before the appointment was over. Keep in mind, at this point, we still haven't heard if they turned this into our insurance or the total cost of the aids. Ty thought he would be getting this information for the first time during this part of the appointment. Instead, the financial lady asked Tyler for a $2300.00 check. His mouth dropped open and asked if they had turned this into our insurance and she said yes, that they denied the claim. Ty told her that he needed to go home and have at least 24 hours to talk to the insurance company himself. The lady's response? She asked him for a $1200.00 check. Half of the cost. Again, Ty reminded her that he needed at least a day to talk to the insurance company. You would think that she got the picture. Nope. She wasn't going to settle for anything less than a check. She asked Ty what he was willing to pay today. So Ty said he was willing to leave her $20, the amount of our co-pay. I guess she knew he meant business, because she took his offer and Ty left with the hearing aids and Lauren.

Ty called me from the car and told me the story. After we hung up, I got onto the phone with United Healthcare. After about 60 minutes on the phone, it was discovered that United Healthcare had never even heard of UNC Hospitals (Chapel Hill) and had never received a claim form them regarding the hearing aids. By the time I was done on the phone, I had a representative tell me that the hearing aids would be covered 100%. Lauren will also be able to get new hearing aids, at no cost, every three years. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could finally take a deep breath. We would have done whatever it took to get her those aids. It's just nice that we don't have to add that to our plate right now. It was a blessing that cannot be put into words.

It was the best news....ever!