Cue the Hallelujah Chorus

A few days ago, in my post on our current saga, I requested prayer for our July 28th appointment at the pediatric hearing clinic.

Some day I may write more, but for now I will say, "Cue the Hallelujah Chorus!" and "Thank you for praying!"

July 7th, the ear doctor saw no fluid.
July 15th, the audiologist did, and the tymp. was flat (indicating fluid).  Fluid takes 6-8 weeks to resolve.
July 28th, there was no fluid, and the tymp. was normal!!!!!! 

The July 15th hearing test showed an across-the-board additional hearing loss of 20 dB.
The July 28th hearing test showed that his hearing was back to his normal amount of hearing loss.

There is no reason for that except for answered prayer.


Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

Allergy Shots - Maintenance

I started allergy shots this spring. (See Ducks in a Row.)

There are 6 concentrations, starting at 1:100,000 and going to 1:1.

Within each concentration, injections are usually administered six times (in increasing doses).  That translates to 36 visits to reach maintenance.

I have four vials of serum, meaning that each time I get an injection, I actually get FOUR shots (two in each arm).  So, that is 144 injections before reaching maintenance.

In the build-up phase, I am to go weekly (which can be 2-9 days apart). I try to go twice a week.

Ideally, I would reach the highest dose (0.5 ml I think) of the highest concentration (1:1) and then move to maintenance (whatever that means, but at the very least it means every 2 or 3 or 4 weeks- hurray!).

In reality, I'm stuck at the 1:10 concentration, midway through (at the 0.2 ml dose).  The welts on my arm at the injection sites were too big.  So, my allergist has me taking the 0.2 ml dose (x4) every 10-17 days ... until the first frost.

After the first frost (when the pollen is not out), we'll resume the build-up phase.  So, technically I'm not in maintenance; I'm just on hold.

I know people who have taken them weekly for years.  I hope I don't have to.  I'm already glad for the reprieve to 10-17 days!

Apparently, we wait 2-3 years until I am re-tested for allergies to see if they are beneficial.

We pray that they are!!!

Current Saga

Please pray for Little Guy's July 28th hearing test and appointment with the ear doctor -

• for accurate data, 
• that he will cooperate, 
• that they will be able to do the bone conduction test, 
• and that the ear doctor will have wisdom in knowing what is going on and what to recommend.  

Thank you!



If you want more details, keep reading.  Warning: very long post.  :)



At Little Guy's annual IFSP meeting in May, the biggest issue was speech intelligibility.

Over the next month we were seeing great progress and thanking God.  

At the speech therapist's June 22 visit, she noted that her analysis of Little Guy's speech showed that for two weeks in a row, his intelligibility had been declining.  So we made a plan - see the local (30 minutes away) pediatrician ASAP to rule out an ear infection.  If the pediatrician did not diagnose an ear infection, make an appointment to see the ear doctor (72 miles away), because often ped's miss an ear infection.

I took Little Guy that very afternoon to the pediatrician, who said, "Wax!  And I won't touch it.  His ear doctor will have to touch it."  [Many peds are afraid to do anything if the patient has hearing issues.]

I made the next available appointment with the ear doctor - July 7th. :(  And things went from bad to worse in the meantime.  Everyone could tell that Little Guy was miserable, and he even refused to wear his hearing aids for several days (totally out of character; he always wants them in).

July 7th the appointment took all of five minutes.  The ear doctor removed a gob of wax from both ears, declared there to be no fluid and no need for tubes, and we went home with hope that the problem was solved.

Except it wasn't.

At the speech therapist's July 13th visit, there was no improvement in intelligibility.  But she did notice that his ear molds were loose, and we couldn't afford to wait until his scheduled July 26 trip to the clinic (for his hearing test) to get new ones made. We needed to go ASAP.  (And in the meantime, we were introduced to Otoferm, like denture cream for hearing aids, and proceeded to go through an entire tube in less than a week!)

So, I was able to get an appointment for July 15th to get impressions made for new ear molds.  And, in the name of efficiency, I was able to move the July 26th hearing test to July 15th, to save a 144-mile roundtrip (ha!).

The July 15th hearing test (which was just a regularly-scheduled quarterly hearing test, and actually just, at that point, an add-on to the impressions appointment) was a game-changer.

First, the audiologist noticed fluid.  Then, the tympanometry (?) was flat.  We debated even doing a hearing test, but decided that, given the other issues, data was important.

Bad news: additional hearing loss across the board of 20 decibels.

Action points: schedule appointment with ear doctor ASAP (July 28), activate volume control on hearing aids with capability of increasing volume by 10 decibels [This isn't ideal, because normally his hearing aids are programmed so he gets more sound for the specific megahertz that he's not hearing], and stop speech homework because it's too frustrating for everyone involved.

So, here we sit, 36 hours away from the appointment with the ear doctor and yet another hearing test.  Here we sit, knowing that God is in control, but concerned.

I'm thankful for all the experts we have helping us on this journey. But today I'm especially thankful for the speech therapist, because she is the one I saw today.  She is the one who came to our home, saw Little Guy interacting in his own environment, heard his speech problems (due to hearing loss), heard my concerns of recent behavior problems (which she said can be due to hearing loss, or, more accurately, not having access to sound), who saw me cry, and who encouraged me that we'll get to the bottom of it.

And, while I was pushing a grocery cart through the dairy aisle at Kroger tonight, she is the one who texted a follow-up regarding a conversation among the multi-disciplinary team at the pediatric hearing clinic and added, "PTL & keep praying!"  [She's my sister in Christ!]  A few minutes later, she texted, "Oh, also the ear molds came in this afternoon."  [That means we can pick them up and have them cut to size while we're at the clinic on July 28!]  That is a huge answer to prayer, because we needed new molds two or three weeks ago, and we won't be seeing the speech therapist for another two weeks, so we would have had to wait two more weeks to get them.  So, I texted back, "Whew! Answered prayer!"  Her reply: "Amen!"

May there be much more answered prayer on July 28th ... and in coming days and weeks, especially giving him access to sound during this critical window of the first few years of life!

1000 Gifts, Vol. 5, #19

181.  abundant fruit and vegetables of the season

182.  oven-roasted vegetables

183.  BLT salad

184.  family time at the lake ~ just the three of us

185.  many hours at this lakeside playground

186.  my morning "Happy Hour" at the coffee shop when we go to the lake

186.  the book Praying Together - highly recommend

187.  air conditioning during a heat wave!!!!

188.  back-to-school sales (so far I have only purchased 20 one-subject notebooks!)

189.  "happening" upon a sale of a product I did not even know existed but which helps with long car rides:  reusable Water Wow coloring books

190.  a 2 1/2 year old who travels reasonably well :)

You know it's been six years when ...

... you forget his birthday - the day, the card, the dessert, the gift, the whole shebang!

   and it's okay


... you keep forgetting to give him a list of what you'd like for a Christmas gift and so he never gives you one, but you somehow pulled off the best Christmas gift of the lifetime for him

   and it's okay


... when you see a good deal so buy it and then tell him, "I just bought something that can be my Valentine's, Mother's Day, and anniversary gifts from you,"  

   and it's okay


... when it takes over 5 1/2 years to remember if he likes green grapes or red grapes (finally he provided me with a great menomic aid - tractor color)

   and it's okay


... when your morning gets off to a rough start, and then he leads you both to that day's new mercies provided by our Lord and gently says, "We both have room to improve."

   and it's okay

Summer

Recently we have been going to "the big park" quite a bit.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe because we're (both) bored with the routine. 

I like the big park (aka, the grade school park, which is really the town park, but the grade school has recess there) because I can look at this nice grassy area with mature trees. 

I think Little Guy likes the big park because of all the equipment!!  If he were to keep walking beyond the tree he's headed towards, there is a small plastic hollow log to climb onto and over and through.  There are even creepy-crawlies and woodland critters in relief on the inside.

I think he believes that when his cousin goes to school, THIS is where she goes -- to the playground.  Thus the frequent assertion: "Mom, I want to go to school."  :)

Hanging out at the lake

Pretend play has overtaken us this summer. 

We eat lunch ("just pretend, Mom") on the picnic table at the park.

We open the laundry room door to the garage in order to see the horse in the bed of Daddy's pickup.

We feed the pigs in the kitchen, but sometimes they move to the CD cabinet.

And we spend hours swimming and boating in this lake:

(The ottoman is the boat in case you didn't know.)  :)

1000 Gifts, Vol. 5, #18

171.  summer - the green, the blue, the sun, the change of seasons

172.  family - coming to see us and going to see them

173.  experts - to look in ears, listen to & analyze speech, gather data on hearing ability, etc.

174.  weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice - we've done a little of both this summer.  And, really, the ones weeping have also rejoiced, and those rejoicing have also mourned a bit.

175.  a wise husband who offers counsel and objectivity

176.  annual summertime breakfast with friends

177.  annual summertime lunch out with friends

178.  a babysitter :) :) :)

179.  books (on IEPs, on missions, on motherhood, ...)

180.  games (Trafalgar, Bananagrams, ...)

Question from a culture-learner

When in Japan, I fielded questions (sometimes rather humorous ones, but that's a story for another day).  Even after being back in the States several years, I received an email from someone who found my blog through a comment I left on his relative's blog about life in a different foreign country.  He wrote:

Thinking back to when you first arrived in Japan - do you remember any really good culture learning tools, or any tips for learning the language?  I'm definitely in a foreign world - and using all of my spare time to study the language and culture!!!  Learning comes slowly . . . .

It's always exciting to learn of Christ-followers who are living in Japan!  As I'm sure you're discovering, just your presence there has potential to be a huge witness. 

Culture learning tips... Hmmm... One good tip is asking questions, while remembering that a rural Jpse might give a different answer from an urban Jpse, older vs. younger, male vs. female, etc.  So ask the same questions of lots of people.  As expats we're prone to ask fellow expats, but I think it helps to also ask Jpse people. 

Over the years I enjoyed (to varying degrees) these books.

Language learning... listen, listen, listen. If you listen long enough, when you speak, you'll sound like a native (that's how babies talk like native speakers).  When you have opportunities to sit through long, boring meetings, do so if possible. Even if you're not sure what you're hearing, you are hearing tones and cadence.  Or listen to NHK radio.  Or consider going to prayer meeting even if you just listen. 

My next piece of advice seems contradictory ... speak, speak, speak.  Don't let perfectionism or the fear of making mistakes keep you from opening your mouth. Learning a language requires a million mistakes, so start making them! :) 

There are a plethora of language learning tools out there.  Over the years I had many one-on-one tutors, but they all were used to working with missionaries.  One of the best things I did was go to the my city's International Office and sign up for a weekly tutor. It was a free service w/ volunteer tutors.  Many were retired men or women, but I was matched with a single lady my age, and we really connected.  She didn't know that many missionaries settle in terms of language skills, and so she pushed me to speak Jpse like Jpse do.  She used a common moral & ethics (Confucian) textbook and we went painstakingly through that elementary school textbook. Another benefit is that she knew no Christians. I had a great opportunity to be salt and light. 

I'm not up on the current apps, websites and other techie ways to learn/survive in Japan, but I'm sure there are many out there.  I applaud your efforts to work at language learning.  Sometimes short-term missionaries don't even try, b/c "I can't be fluent in a year or two." That is self-defeating, and you'd be surprised how much you really can learn if you put your heart into it.  Good for you! 

How about setting goals for yourself?  I'm not sure how much you're doing in worship in Jpse now, but these are some examples of goals:

• to pray the offering prayer in Japanese
• to give your testimony in Japanese
• to give an announcement in Japanese
• to memorize verses in Japanese
• to memorize the Lord's prayer, etc.

If you wait til you're fluent to do these things, you'll never feel competent/confident, but if you start doing more than you think you can ...!  My first Bible study was almost comical. We had a Bible study book in Jpse and English. I'd say, "A-san, can you read question one?"  "Okay, what do you think the answer is?"  "B-san, can you read question two?"  And all the while, I was praying nothing heretical was going on. I know I didn't understand even half of what they were saying. But they were patient, and re-stated things in simple ways.  And eventually I grew. 

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with these thoughts.  You are correct that learning comes slowly. And, I noticed, that learning was often delayed.  I did a couple intensive summer language study programs.  Both times, I didn't realize I was progressing, for there was a lag time.  But several months later, I had a real jump in my language ability.  So, keep at it, even tho' it's hard when you don't see progress.  And pray!  And ask others to pray for your perseverance & encouragement and progress in it.  

A month of Sundays

I try not to let my Bible become a filing cabinet, but recently it has accumulated quite a few papers.

Currently, you would find:

• a Guardian Receipt sticker from KidCheck from a church nursery we attended on vacation

• a song sheet from Family Reunion (How Deep the Father's Love for Us, In Christ Alone, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and Ancient Words)

• a discussion handout from QPlace for Psalms: Songs of the Soul (we did Psalm 103 at Reunion)

• an invitation to serve, helping put together packets for the County Fair Outreach

Pretend

Playing at the park



Running to Mommy, "I need my helmet!"

Pretends to put it on.  Has difficulty.

"Oh, I need my ears off." ("ears" = hearing aids)

Pretends to take his ears off and give them to me.  Pretends to put helmet on.

Changes mind. 

"I not need helmet."

Pretends to take it off.  Runs in direction of trike. Stops mid-stride. Turns around. Runs back to Mommy.

"I want your [my] ears back in."

Mommy pretends to put them back in.  He pretends to fiddle with them, adjusting them.

Pointing to right one, "It not in right."

Mommy pretends to fix it.

Pointing to left one, "It not in right."

Mommy pretends to fix it.

Runs off to play. 

Our Week in Sleep

At 8 AM last Friday, we three were standing in our garage next to a pile of luggage, waiting for Grandpa and Grandma.  We squeezed all our bags and pack and play and stroller and car seat into their car and enjoyed the next 322 miles of family togetherness. 

The night before we left, a certain toddler had screamed for 1.5 hours in the middle of the night ... so no one had gotten much sleep. 

And then he only had about a 45 minute nap in the car.  Plus we crossed time zones.  And arrived at a destination that was bustling with excitement (about 50 aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins!!).

Two days later, on Sunday afternoon, we re-traced our steps.  But a certain toddler had been so exhausted on Sunday morning, that he sat on "Uncle" P's lap, put his head on the table and slept soundly during the hour-long devotional.  Then ... the first hour or more of our trip home was another screaming fest.

The rest is a blur.  Monday I stayed in bed all morning, while Little Guy joined all his aunts and uncles and cousins for the 4th of July parade and lunch.  Monday night he slept on my chest during 9-9:30 fireworks.

Tuesday was another short (early) nap and late night with all the relatives.

Wednesday was a longer (but still early) nap (one in which he fell asleep on the floor outside our bedroom door, looking for me, when I was gone to the allergist), and another late night after pizza with all.

Thursday was only an hour nap in the car coming home from the ear doctor.  Then the first two hours of his night (which did not start easily or quietly!) were in a Pack and Play at an aunt's house.

Friday was also an early nap, but I held him and prayed before nap time, and prayed he would sleep at least 3 hours.  THREE hours later, I was awakened from a deep dream (and two hour nap myself), as he woke up happily. :)

And Friday night Little Guy slept 8 PM - 7.20 AM (unheard of!!).  And I slept 9.30 PM - 7 AM!!!!

I don't think this schedule is listed in any of the books that give sample sleep schedules for toddlers!

Dust

For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust

Psalm 103.14

The past week of family reunion, 4th of July celebration, and out-of-town visitors has been punctuated by medicine, forced rest, a visit to the allergist/ immunologist's office, and loading up on Rx and over-the-counter supplies for the latest version of The Strategy To Keep Me Healthy. 

I'm actually encouraged by the new plan and am glad that humanly speaking there are still strategies we haven't tried yet.  Yay!!  

Ultimately, our hope is in the Lord, and I'm encouraged tonight by remembering that he knows my frame and he remembers that I am dust.  He is not asking me to bear more than I can.  

Indivisible

We are thankful for all the people who have purchased these Scholastic books and then donated them to Goodwill!  We have collected several in this series:

• The Pledge of Allegiance
• The Star Spangled Banner
• America the Beautiful

This morning Little Guy was playing in the living room, and once when I walked in, he was "reading" this book.

"... GOD!  .... idibidible ... ALL!"  And then he started singing, "America! America!" (... God shed His grace on thee...)

And then he went off to the "marching band parade," as we call it, in Tiny Town, dressed in his patriotic clothing - navy shorts and a red tshirt with a flag on it (25 cents at a garage sale). 

Tiny Town's population doubles or triples on parade day as everyone who grew up there comes back.  There were 29 of our family alone there.  And so he enjoyed aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins and great-aunts and great-uncles and first cousins once removed and Grandma and Grandpa and drums and trombones and fire trucks and playgrounds while they waited for the parade!

And now he is enjoying a wonderful nap!! :)