We have a new sound to report:) because we live in a community with a army base every morning and night someone plays the taps....on the bugel its always nice to hear!!! Well Aubrey heard it for the first time in her life! I know i hear it from our house...when windows are open always.....we are about 5 blocks further out from the school.......but even at that the school is about 2 miles away!!!! YEAH AUBZ

Cochlear Limited is undertaking a voluntary recall of the unimplanted Cochlear Nucleus CI500 cochlear implant range. While less than 1% of CI512 implants have failed since launch in 2009 , Cochlear has identified a recent increase in the number of Nucleus CI512 implant failures. In an abundance of caution and with our recipients in mind, Cochlear has issued a voluntary recall of the Nucleus CI500 range of cochlear implants while it further investigates the issue. No implants outside the Cochlear Nucleus CI500 range are affected by this voluntary recall including Nucleus Freedom implants which remain available. The Nucleus 5 external devices (Nucleus CP810 Sound Processor) and any previous generation sound processors are not affected by this recall. It is important to note that all existing Nucleus CI512 implant recipients can continue to use their system as normal. If a Nucleus CI512 failure occurs, the implant safely shuts down. In the event of a failure, recipients can be re-implanted with the Nucleus Freedom implant range which remains available. Nucleus Freedom is fully compatible with the Nucleus 5 Sound Processor System which is not affected by this recall. For people considering a cochlear implant, Cochlear recommends the use of the Nucleus Freedom range of Cochlear implants which are fully compatible with the Nucleus 5 sound processor system. This combination of Nucleus Freedom and Nucleus 5 sound processor system does not sacrifice any of the performance benefits of the Nucleus 5 processor system. For more than 25 years, cochlear implant reliability has been of paramount importance to Cochlear, and we remain committed to providing high quality, high reliable cochlear implant systems.

Good Morning:)
I am so excited to be back into the routine of school. It feels good! I will admit it is very busy for us, but busy children are happy children!! and that makes for a very happy mom:)
Aubrey and I had a conversation this morning about her new "mapping" for her implant and she said she "LOVES IT" she hears the whoosin sound that the toilet makes. She knew the toilet makes sounds, but she now hears the "woooSHHHING" sound. It is amazing what a little tweak can do! Honestly, she now can hear the SHHHHHH. WOW! AND the one complaint was the bell at Great falls High...it was too loud and hurt, she really hated it! Well yesterday, she said the first time it rang she didn't hear it...."because I was so focused on what i was doing" and then the second time it rang, it was soft, she knew it was the bell, but it didn't hurt or overwhelm her any longer. These may seem like such small things but as i think about it, I am so amazed.....it is so awesome! who would be excited about the woooSHING sound of a toilet? WE ARE, WE ARE!!!

~Been a LONG time~~

Afternoon everyone!
my mind is racing and i feel like i have so much I need to share! I need to make it a point to write at least once a week! if not every day, especially since Aubrey is in high school and new things are happening:)
Well lets think here for a moment....We are headed to Belgrade Montana tomorrow too see out audiologist from Denver! I guess she can come here to Montana three times a year without getting her licence here and she has a LOT of Montana kids....thought it made sense to come here at least a twice a year and do mappings!! We are excited! I HATED that drive to Denver!!! So tomorrow we will learn exactly what Aubrey is hearing and how she is hearing it! We have yet to even have one mapping since she was activated, it has only been barley 6 months!
Life has been awesome for Aubrey, she now is a high school student!!! wow, I feel old! But she seems to be so "normal" I watch her and every time i see her doing sports, expressions of silence or even studying....my eyes weld up with tears. She is so AMAZING. So strong, such a go getter! Nothing has slowed that kiddo down. She is involved in high school volleyball....she is actually good too. She wants nothing more then to do more and do better. She wants to learn how to be a score keeper, not exactly sure what the official name is for those people in VBALL....but she wants it:) I sometimes get lost watching the interpret and i drift off to my brain and thinking to myself, wow, she could be the next president, watch out Obama:) Aubrey See's nothing as a challenge....she See's what she wants and dives right in for it! Why am i amazed, well can I be honest? yes, sure I can this is MY BLOG:) Well as a hearing person i was clueless as to what Aubrey was going to turn out to be, I was scared of what kind of limits this was going to put on her....I didn't know and understand deafness, implants, hearing aids. I always caught myself wondering how and if she was going to be able to do certain things. I was scared. I remember the day Aubrey and I had the conversation about babies, she came to me with tears in her eyes, wondering if she would be able to be a mommy~~~now i know nothing is wrong but she cant hear, but i couldn't answer that for her. I didn't know. I remember wondering about sports, how can she play, her ability is there but would they let this "deaf kid" play? I didn't know....I remember wondering HOW ON EARTH can she drive? not that she isn't smart as a whip....but how would she be able to know the fire truck is a block away racing to whiz past her. I said something a few lines up and as i re-read that word "limitations" I can say I am learning that I can be the one to limit her if I am not careful.....I have met a few AMAZING people who are involved with the deaf community elsewhere and I have learned so much in such a short time. Whenever there are questions and ones that i would be scared to say out loud I truly know Davida will give it to me like it is! I have learned that I need that support! I need to explore deaf culture, hard of hearing or not I can understand and it is my job to learn and pass on this gift of acceptance to others along my journey:)
~~The sounds just keep coming for Aubrey...the wind, the waterfalls, the birds chirping (if it is a crow) the jingles of the dogs collar, the obnoxious typing on the computer keyboard:) other people mowing their lawns....the car turns signal...sweeping the floor, whatever that kind of sound makes. OH and when you are in the gym and that crazy scretcky sound the shoes make on the gym floor, that one drives her crazy!!! The part that I really love to hear is Aubrey correct her sister....she is often teling madie that she says something wrong and teaches her the correct way:) that to me is a neat moment!!!
~~So let me end this blog now by saying I am so blessed and I am so proud! I am going to make a better effort at blogging....sharing our life, i know I have learned things from others along this path, and I want to be able to share our experinces in hopes something might strike a cord with someone else!!!