The inner ear refuses to heal. Dr. Shelton compared it to trying to do a skin graft in the mouth - it's too moist to heal. We've tried everything from creams & antibiotics to expanding ear plugs to cauterization & everything in between yet the ear canal continues to get smaller and smaller at every appointment. After 15 months we've concluded that it's probably not going to heal in the way we had hoped so the doctor gave us three options:
1. Re-do the surgery of the inner ear. 50/50 chance that we would see different results. (I would happily go this route but I worry that if it doesn't heal again then we've created more scar tissue making it more difficult for any changes in the future)
2. Surgically implant the Baha (hearing aid) to give some hearing and go on with life as usual. (The very same surgery that we planned to do before we started this whole process - a step backwards)
3. Do nothing and wait for technology to continue to develop. (a high percentage of children with unilateral hearing loss have to repeat a grade because they miss a lot of what is said because they have a hard time filtering background noise, often they are concentrating so hard on hearing the sounds that they miss the actual lesson the teacher is giving)
Dr. Shelton has asked that we keep the ear dry for another year. She was as disappointed about that as she was to know that this whole process didn't accomplish what we had hoped. That will make 3 years of no water in the ear - it's more inconvenient than anything but it's getting old.
A hearing test confirmed that she still has severe hearing loss on that side.
Dr. Preston (our audiologist) is attempting to make an ear plug that she can wear underneath her swim cap so she can swim this summer without her paranoid mother following her around adjusting it every 5 seconds. The tricky part is that it can't go in the ear canal and that's what keeps it in place. We're crossing our fingers that it will work.
We are in the process of connecting with an ear surgeon who does revision surgery of the ear. We could possibly remove this ear and start all over again and pray for different results. There is a conference in Chicago (for parents & children with Microtia-Atresia) in August that we are considering attending before we make any final decisions as to what comes next.
We don't love the way the ear looks but even more so we are disappointed that she still can't hear but that doesn't necessarily mean that we regret this process. We've learned so many things and grown insurmountably. We love our doctors and don't regret for one second who we chose as her surgeons. We trusted them and they did what they are well qualified to do, sometimes things just don't go as planned, no matter how prepared or qualified we are. We wish our results were different, we would've been thrilled if it would've gone exactly as we envisioned but apparently God has more for us to learn.
1. Re-do the surgery of the inner ear. 50/50 chance that we would see different results. (I would happily go this route but I worry that if it doesn't heal again then we've created more scar tissue making it more difficult for any changes in the future)
2. Surgically implant the Baha (hearing aid) to give some hearing and go on with life as usual. (The very same surgery that we planned to do before we started this whole process - a step backwards)
3. Do nothing and wait for technology to continue to develop. (a high percentage of children with unilateral hearing loss have to repeat a grade because they miss a lot of what is said because they have a hard time filtering background noise, often they are concentrating so hard on hearing the sounds that they miss the actual lesson the teacher is giving)
Dr. Shelton has asked that we keep the ear dry for another year. She was as disappointed about that as she was to know that this whole process didn't accomplish what we had hoped. That will make 3 years of no water in the ear - it's more inconvenient than anything but it's getting old.
A hearing test confirmed that she still has severe hearing loss on that side.
Dr. Preston (our audiologist) is attempting to make an ear plug that she can wear underneath her swim cap so she can swim this summer without her paranoid mother following her around adjusting it every 5 seconds. The tricky part is that it can't go in the ear canal and that's what keeps it in place. We're crossing our fingers that it will work.
We are in the process of connecting with an ear surgeon who does revision surgery of the ear. We could possibly remove this ear and start all over again and pray for different results. There is a conference in Chicago (for parents & children with Microtia-Atresia) in August that we are considering attending before we make any final decisions as to what comes next.
We don't love the way the ear looks but even more so we are disappointed that she still can't hear but that doesn't necessarily mean that we regret this process. We've learned so many things and grown insurmountably. We love our doctors and don't regret for one second who we chose as her surgeons. We trusted them and they did what they are well qualified to do, sometimes things just don't go as planned, no matter how prepared or qualified we are. We wish our results were different, we would've been thrilled if it would've gone exactly as we envisioned but apparently God has more for us to learn.
My heart is full as I watch Kambri face disappointment with confidence. We don't know what the future holds. We will make some big decisions in the coming months. We are proud of who she is becoming & we love watching her blossom into a beautiful young woman with a story that will inspire many for years to come. She is a rockstar!
