Hearing Birthday

Today is Jazzie's Hearing Birthday. Eight years ago, her first cochlear implant was activated and Jazzie heard her very first sound. She has come a long way since then. We've seen her go from a 16 month old girl with absolutely no speech or hearing abilities, to a normal, almost tween (!!!!), girl. 

I've used every adjectiev imaginable to describe Jazzie's journey: amazing, miraculous, astounding, unbelievable... But none of them truly capture how I feel. My deaf daughter is talking just like any other girl her age and can hear within normal limits with her cochlear implants. People that just meet her, have no clue she is deaf. Jazzie, truly is amazing.

January 3, 2004 - The audiologist is getting everything in place before turning on the device:

Her very first sound ever:

When Jazzie first got her cochlear implant, the processor was so much larger than it is now. She actually carried it on her back in a harness for a long time.

You can see how large her backpack was in this picture. When Jazzie first got her device, they didn't have a black magnet for her, so she wore a brown one until the black one was back in stock. The magnet is so visible not only because it's brown, but because Jazzie's hair hadn't grown back yet.

Jazzie certainly has come a long way, but so has the cochlear implant processor. She no longer wears her processor on her back, the entire device now fits snugly behind her ear (like a large hearing aid). Jazzie actually wears an older model; the newer ones are even smaller than what she has now. We will probably upgrade to those in a few years when we are eligible for the upgrade and our insurance will cover them ;-)

To celebrate, I had brownies waiting for Jazzie when she got home from school.

Comments

[Rebecca Kavel]

She looked so cute when she was a kid! Now, she's turning into a beautiful lady… Belated happy hearing birthday Jazzie! You're lucky to have such a wonderful family, especially your loving mom. :)

[Cindy]

Yes, Jazzie is amazing, so is her mama. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

[Karen PUtz]

Happy birthday to Jazzie! Here's to many more!

[Tammie]

Oh wow! What a day to celebrate! Happy Hearing Day Jazzie!

[Lisa]

What a happy celebration! Congratulations Jazzie! I know how hard these little ones work to hear and talk! We are approaching Nathan's first hearing birthday. That first moment when they hear sound is amazing. Jazzie has amazing speech (watched some of your videos!). That is not easy - she has done a lot of work to get there!

[Catherine]

A day of great celebration for your AMAZING daughter!

Happy 8th Hearing Day Jazzie!!

[Betty]

Happy Hearing Day Jazzie!
Love your blog , writing about your life with daughters!

They are so amazing too, growing in everyone ;)
Ofz, Jazzie will be successful for her career with her implants in the future!

I cannot hear well and not speak well with a implant. Never can reach my dreams with my implant in my whole life.

So I hope she will be happy with them^^!
Add oil ^^ (Fighting!)

Cheers
Betty

[Kathy Eason]

Happy Hearing Day Jazzie. Set your sights and goals high and aim for the moon,anything is possible. Glad all is going well.
My niece adopted from China is profoundly deaf and wears hearing aids, when they brought her home she was healthy and had no issues. They say hers is genetic and may need to go to the cochlear implant if hers gets any worse. If she doesn't have the hearing aids on she can hear nothing.

[Two Kayaks]

What a beautiful day to celebrate! I hardly remember that Jazzie is deaf. She breaks through all the boundaries before her.

[Debbie]

Absolutely, Jazzie IS amazing! I have some knowledge of the implant, and Jazzie's speech is excellent. How proud you must be of her :-)