Hey Guys!

Ken didn't get demoted or laid off...he got transferred to a new department and has a new boss though. He has been in this department before but never under this particular boss. Hopefully it will be a good move, or at least an okay move. They will still be making changes in the next few months so there is still a slight possibility he will be laid off, but hopefully not. I don't think Ken is really worried about it---a change may be good, but I would feel better if the change happened with another job already lined up you know! Things are okay here...Jack is on Omnicef for an ear infection, Clairnex and Nasonex to try and clear up his nose and reduce swelling in his adenoids. The ENT thinks his hearing may have been comprimised by all that is going on with fluid in his ears, negative pressure in the middle ear and swollen adenoids when he had his last hearing test. We see the Audiologist at Providence (where Jack got his hearing aids) tomorrow to get his new ear molds and his repaired hearing aid, and then the following Tuesday we see the ENT again and their audiologist is going to do a hearing test. If it still looks like he is losing dB's, then I think we get the MRI.

oof!

Disney is going DOWN man...They walked out 16 VP's and Directors yesterday and tomorrow they are having a mandatory "town hall meeting" for everyone in Ken's department. Yowsa...hopefully they won't lay off ken, but I guess what will happen will happen. He doesn't thinbk he will get the ol heave hoe, but who knows. He said that some VP's were told they could get walked out right then or take a demotion, Ken won't take a demotion, so hopefully that won't be his choice. Keep positive thoughts for us!!! :)

I really did it this time!

I got a call this evening from a good friend...I could hear lots of chatter in the background and my friend said that they wanted me to take a position on the PTA Board...Treasurer, I said yes of course, because that is all that will come out of my mouth when someone asks me to do something LOL I am excited, but nervous too. Dianne said that my job will be to do checks and balances, write checks when I get vouchers and keep the PTA budget in check...hmmm, it will be interesting!

Back from ENT's office

Okay, well...we have some answers, I think? The ENT assistant came in and asked what was up, we talked, she looked over lots of data---behavior tests that Jack has done from 3/07, 7/07, 12/07. 1/08 and now 2/09. They are all over the place---all very different. Some up and some down. She said we can gather that 1) Jack is an unreliable kid when it comes to these tests, 2) he has fluctuating hearing, 3) let's test more because who knows what the hell is going on. So she said he has fluid in his right ear, the drum is barely moving and he has negative pressure within the middle ear. I told her that the Audiologist said that none of that would effect the high frequencies of his hearing tests but she said she believes it does interfere with scores. She also said that the MRI would only be looking for Acoustic Neuromas and that at this point she doesn't feel that they need to get that drastic. She said that he needs meds to get the fluid all cleared out and bring down swelling in his adenoids. So he is now taking Clarinex, Nasonex and Omnicef (for the infection). We go back 2 weeks from today so they can repeat the hearing test at the ENT's office. She said "let's do this first then talk about the MRI". She said that Acoustic Neuromas don't grow at a rapid rate, very slowly in fact so even if by some small, teeny tiny chance it is that, it won't hurt to wait a couple weeks. So that is what she said. She also said she thinks someone, his teacher, his speech pathologist---his mommy and daddy, someone would have noticed his hearing dipping down that much. She is thinking his hearing hasn't decreased at this point, maybe fluctuating but not by the degree the audiologist says it has. Hmmm, specialists who don't agree.

Rainy Monday!

I am happy it is raining today---that means I don't have to take my kids anywhere outside, and not feel guilty about it. It is nice, we all have colds and the kids are just kicking back watching TV and Aunica is working on her "Stamp" of Walt Disney. We are making multiple drawings and will pick the best one later to use for the project. Tomorrow Jack will miss school because he has an appointment with the ENT and hopefully we can get an MRI ordered and the ball with the authorization from the insurance company. Nothing else major going on here.

It's been awhile!

Well, I am in a funk. At that place in my mind where I am trying not to overthink things and still try to work the thoughts out in my head to make sense to me. Okay, let's back up a minute. Jack had a yearly hearing test last Monday---okay, routine routine...everything should go smoothly. Yeah right! It was like a sock in the face---I was stunned for most of the day. The audiologist said that Jack's hearing has declined, and in the right ear, by a lot. almost 25 dB's which is a lot. So now, according to this test, Jack has moved into the moderate level of hearing in the right ear. What worries me is that his hearing has changed and we don't know why---does this mean that his hearing will continue to decline and one day he will no longer be able to hear? They can't rell me squat! I am tired of hearing "We don't know" and "sometimes you never know"...cause I for one will keep looking until I find something. Anyway, we have had his hearing aids turned up, and we had to go back yesterday to have them adjusted because they were too loud. Now we have to go see the ENT (ear nose and throat specialist) to ask for an MRI that the audiologist says we need "to rule out certain things" for this new decline in hearing loss. I am sure this is not the case but one of those things we ned to rule out is something called Acoustic Neuromas and they are small benign tumors and the 8th cranial nerve---the nerve that sound travels to get to the brain. This is very unlikely but they have to check for it anyway. Also he has had the genetic testing and blood testing and CT Scan so the MRI is all that is left for that type of diagnostic testing. I am hoping that the ENT approves it and that we can get that scheduled soon. Other than the MRI the only other thing we can do is wait for the repeat hearing test in 3 months. There are chances that the hearing test is invalid---it is a behavioral test and Jack has in the past been enreliable in the testing booth. The audiologist says she thinks he was pretty reliable though. I have my doubts. Also, there are studies that say an ABR (a special hearing test that is done while the child is asleep and so the doc looks at how the brain actually responds to sound) should be used as a screening tool and not for total diagnosis of what a child can hear because they are unreliable in behavioral tests. Jack had a behavioral test back in July 07 and it also had his hearing at 65dB at the 2000hz frequency and that is exactly what we are seeing now in 09 on the behaviroal test. So my hope is that his hearing hasn't changed at all and that we were just wrong before because the ABR says his brain hears at a higher sensitivity. So think of us for the next few weeks (or months) depending on when we get that MRI and more answers----hopefully!