Activated!

If you're hoping for one of those tear-jerking viral video sensations of a deaf child hearing his mother's voice for the first time, you have come to the wrong place.  Brian and I have watched all of those videos and have cried right along with the rest of you.  But our goal, from the time Colin was two months old and we learned he was a likely cochlear implant candidate, was to not have one of those moments.  We wanted him wearing his hearing aids enough that he was accustomed to sound  well before he received his implant.  Muffled, quiet, and mainly from his left ear, but sound nonetheless.

When his implant was turned on, our voices sounded different to him.  Louder, certainly, but also possibly more mechanical, or even mousy.  Soon it will sound "normal," but right now it most likely doesn't.

Here is Colin's implant.  He will wear it when he's awake.  It's easy to take off for naps and bedtime.  

I may be a little biased here, but he makes that thing look good.  Give it a few years, and I predict the fashion forward are going to abandon their fake eye glasses in favor of fake cochlear implants.  

Seriously, there's no way JT is sporting prescription glasses here.

If obtrusive ear wear is good enough for King James, it's good enough for Colin Brantley.

Why, yes, that's a Baby Air Jordan he's holding.  Trendy from his head to his feet.

Here is Colin, at day 2 of his initial stimulation, hearing one particular sound he has never been able to detect out of his right ear, the "ssssssss" sound.  His audiologist is to his right.  He doesn't have a huge reaction here.  But watch how he stops what he's doing and furrows his brow and thinks.     

On day 3 after activation, Colin whips his head around to find the source of several different sounds.

And this is only day 3.  Imagine day 300.  We can't wait.