First Round in NC

It feels good to finally be back up to speed with Riley and his continued progress. Although we are very happy with the audiology department here at UNC, it has definitely been a lot of work, and a long process just trying to nail down all his records and previous testing from San Diego. We've pretty much just had to start from scratch as far as diagnosing Riley's hearing issues, which in my opinion is a good thing. I feel better about starting all over again, rather than relying on written documents from almost a year ago!

Today, Riley got a set of non-functioning tubes removed from his ears, another set replaced in his ears, and he also received another ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) Test.

The surgery and testing were successful! The entire procedure took about 90min. The results weren't what we expected! But they were better, and so much more informative than what we knew before today.

Riley's right ear tested at normal levels for every frequency!! This is DEFINITELY an answered prayer! He has NEVER tested at normal levels in either ear. This test is the most extensive and accurate of any hearing test he's ever received. He had the same test back in San Diego, and that test revealed a mild loss in the right ear and significant loss in the left ear. For whatever reason that has changed, because today, that SAME TEST revealed perfect hearing in Riley's right ear! YAY! Does God say "See, I got your back!"? because I swear that's what I heard Him say when the doctor told us those results this morning!

We also got some new, and helpful news about Riley's left ear. They were much different than the right ear, which we knew would be the case! He still showed a significant loss in his left ear. They were able to diagnose him with Audio Neuropathy (nerve is not working properly) He will receive an MRI in the next couple of weeks to do more extensive research on why this ear is responding so poorly. All we know so far is it has to do with the nerve in his inner ear. So the MRI will hopefully reveal if the nerve is damaged or if it's even intact. The audiologist also informed us that hearing aids would not be productive and would only hinder Riley more. This is because hearing aids only AMPLIFY sound, and since the damaged nerve causes him only to hear a very muffled "white noise" sound, hearing aids would only make that "muffled white noise" sound LOUDER. Since Riley does have one "good" ear, we'll just start adjusting his therapy (behavioral and speech) to train him to compensate and maximize the use of that ear! Essentially just playing to his strengths! It made perfect sense to me, which is good since his testing has been so inconclusive until now! Our next step is to find out even more info after he receives an MRI. I'm excited to give this info to "Mrs. Margaret" (Riley's speech therapist), so she can even more strategically work with Riley on his speech! I really can't explain how thankful I am for her role in Riley's life right now!

Thanks everyone, for praying! I firmly believe the good news we received was a direct result of someone praying for complete healing in that ear today. Thanks to whoever said that prayer!!

Here are a few pictures we were able to take this morning before Riley's surgery!

Riley and Daddy at the hospital before checking in!



Watching cartoons and waiting for the anesthesiologist.



Getting sleepy and VERY tipsy after a dose of pre anesthesia sedative.



And off to the abyss! Or at least that's how it feels every time I hand him over for surgery!

He never once cried! The doctors were surprised (they usually are) when Riley woke up completely calm and happy. We got him home and gave him some lunch. He was happy to see his brother, but still a little tipsy from the anesthesia.

Today was an encouraging day for us! It's so good to see results of God's hand. It's also feels good to be done with Riley's first round of testing in NC.