Thursday, March 11, 2010

Praise and Thanksgiving

It has been so long since I have posted. Maybe I am not really going to blog anymore, I'm not sure. So much has happened though! So many good things, and for those who have followed our family's journey I want to share some of those!

Almost one year ago, February 24th I believe, we received a call from our adoption agency telling us that they had Taye at their transition home and that they believed that he had profound bilateral sensioneural hearing loss. If you have met him you can totally see how this could have not been realized by the orphanage where he was for a few months. However, it was devastating for us to hear this! It was a challenging time for us as we tried to come to terms with this and what it meant. I have to say that our agency was wonderful through this. Getting him more testing with the best ENT's they had access to and making it very clear that they would completely support us if we did not feel that we were able to go through with everything.

We felt God's direction very clearly that this was the child he had for our family. He would be our child and just as any other time a parent learns of a child's disablity, we would grieve but His grace was sufficient. We dug into learning about our options should the diagnosis be correct (it was), began praying every day that Taye would be able to hear someday in some way, and in April finally went to bring our precious boy home. Along the way the things we learned about how it feels to be so supported by the people around you- in prayers and actions- amazed us! As 2 oldest children Kevin and I were pretty good at working together and handling things but this has pushed us way out of our comfort zone and forced us to rely on others. A good thing no doubt. I can't say enough about knowing that others were praying for us and the way that got us through sometimes, holding to the promises that God hears and will answer!

Once we arrived home, we began a whirlwind of appointments and tests. In December it was finally confirmed that he was definitely a candidate for Cochlear Implants. We began the process of getting approval from insurance to have this done on both ears at the same time. On March 9th Taye received both implants! In about a month (Lord willing) they will be activated and he will begin the process of learning to listen and eventually to speak clearly.


Here is Taye several hours after his surgery. He was such a trooper-- so tough! He enjoyed some food only after he reminded us that we needed to pray first!
This is the next day. They took off the dressing and we were able to come home that morning.
Taye waved good bye to all his new nurse friends, shook hands with his surgeon (I'm not kidding you- he stuck out his little hand and gave him a firm handshake- his idea) and we were off.
We are home and dong pretty well other than that he is still kind of off balance and still as crazy as ever. Bad combo and equals the need for full time parental supervision!
At the end of March, Taye will start going to a school that specializes in teaching kids with CI's to speak and listen. The kids we have met from there have been amazing in their ability to speak so clearly! The school is about an hour away so in order to fill my time while I am there I took a job. I will actually start tomorrow and will be working as a parent consultant with the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program. It was kind of a situation where things just fell in to place so easily that we felt like it was the right thing to do. I think I will learn a lot and am excited about that. Right before I accepted the position it hit me very clearly (again) how much I love being a mom. It is definitely my main job so I hope this can all work out. The reality is that I would be gone anyway, so as much as I don't want anything to change... it is.
I think that pretty much sums things up. The other kids are awesome! The best kids ever is what we usually tell them.:) Kevin is such a rock and continues to be Taye's favorite. grrr. Oh and our house is for sale. If we sell it we will move closer to Taye's school since he will be going there for about 4 years. God has made his plan clear before, we are trusting he will continue to do so!
Blessings,
laura

15 comments:

J Gutwein said...

Praise God!! This makes me so happy; I love Taye and his energy. Please keep blogging.. I really love it & it is a testimony. I will keep praying for you guys and praising God for all that he has done for you! Love, J

Janet said...

Thanks so much for the update, Laura. I've been thinking about you guys!

Missy said...

What a wonderful update!! Glad to read that things are going so well!!! Hope Taye heals quickly!!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing God we have! One of my favorite sayings is "Don't tell God how big your mountain is, tell the mountain how big your God is!!" I am so happy for your family. Taye is such a precious, precious boy. You have a world of prayers and support around you...your family is continually in many persons prayers, especially ours!

teresa said...

Thanking God and rejoicing with you. Yay! Taye! What special memories of his hospital stay.

I appreciate today's blog update. An occassional update works great. It helps us to know how to be praying for your family.

Hollie Martin said...

So glad to read the update on your beautiful family, Laura. We think of you often. It sounds like things are falling into place and your trust in God and positive attitude will assure everything lines up just right! Give Taye a hug from Amani - and keep us posted on his progress.

Erin said...

Definitely a testimony. Love you and your heart. Thanks for the update! Would love to someday meet each other's boys - if you're home over Easter and want to meet up for lunch at BC, let me know!

Erin W.

Sara Huber said...

What a great summary of the past year. Hoping and praying things are going well for you today/tomorrow and next week as you get started with your job. It is so exciting to imagine what God has in store for Taye!

Daveana said...

Thanks for the update. It's great to to know what is going on with your family! Praying for you all as you transition. It's awesome to see what God has done!

Jill said...

Wow Laura. You have been (and will be busy) Thanks for the update. We will keep your family and Taye in our prayers. We admire your committment to Taye, I am sure this has changed your life but you and Kevin have handled it in such grace - God's love really shines through you as "you give unto one of the least of these"

We love you, wish we lived closer!
Andy & Jill

Anonymous said...

Continue to blog! I love reading the updates on your family. We love you guys and continue to pray for Taye. He is such a special boy! I have your picture on my frig and it reminds me to pray for your family and all the changes you are going through. Life is a journey!

Aunt Lisa

Bry&Ash said...

I've been thinking about you guys too and I'm so glad to hear how God has been working through all of this. It's really an incredible story. And you seem to be handling it so well.

We'll be praying for you guys (and hoping you move closer!):)

Ashton

Becky said...

So glad for an update! We think of you guys often. Keep blogging or at least keep me updated on Taye's progress. I was about to email you to see how things were going so I was happy to see this update!

Anonymous said...

Praying for you often. I hope you guys are all doing well and we think of you so much. Thanks for the wonderful update and testimony of God's abiding love. We love Taye. He is a real trooper, an example of what all kids should be like!!-full of love and a big BEAUTIFUL SMILE!!
Love you all

Darlene

Anonymous said...

May the Almighty God continue to bless you guys. We will continue to remember your family in our prayers.

Please keep us informed on his progress.
We love your family.

Love, Fidelis