Isaac's World

Isaac is Deaf but hears with cochlear implants. He received his first cochlear implant on September 25th, 2006. He received his second cochlear implant on September 10, 2008. This is his journey with sound as told by mommy.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Bi-lateral Update

Ian and I have decided to move forward with a 2nd implant for Isaac. This has been a tough decision to make and we have been going back and forth with it ever since Isaac had his first implant. I wrote a lengthy post a few weeks ago with the inner battle we have been fighting regarding this issue. CHOP has taken a conservatvie approach with bi-laterals and wanted to see results from the research on 2 implants in children before subjecting the kids to surgery on both ears. We are pretty confident this is the best decision for Isaac. He is doing well with one and a second implant will definately help him more than just one implant.

The team at CHOP has agreed that a second implant would benefit Isaac and now we are waiting for insurance approval. Hopefully we can get this done before Isaac is 3 years old in March.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Shiloh! I'll keep my fingers crossed that you have no insurance battle to fight. I can't believe Isaac is going on 3 already.

I really appreciated our surgeon's conservative approach to the bilateral. I think we're lucky to have been given food for thought as opposed to a surgeon/center that just implants with no questions asked.

Take care!

3:33 PM  
Blogger Jennifer said...

I hope that insurance gives you no trouble at all and you can get Isaac's second implant quickly! I'm glad you've finally made the decision...I'm sure it was a hard one to make...but I think Isaac will do well with two ears! How exciting! :)

4:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's great!!! I know it's been such a hard decision for you, but I'm glad it's coming together. I love how thoughtful the folks at CHOP are. And I'm sure this will really help Isaac.

Will your insurance cover it? What about the state medical assistance? They paid for E's CI.

7:25 PM  
Blogger Laurie said...

I applaud you and Ian for making this decision. I know it is not an easy one but you know your child best.

What is nice about bilateral implants is that he will have a backup and not complete silence if a processor fails or needs batteries, etc.

Hope the insurance approval goes through quickly. Will think good thoughts for you!

9:49 PM  
Blogger Shiloh said...

Thanks everybody for the support. Jeannette-Our private insurance covered 80% of Isaac's first implant and state medical assistance covered the rest. I'm not sure how things will go with the bilateral surgery. Only time will tell, but I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from CHOP.

9:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Really interesting to read this. We go to CHOP too, and I've been thinking about a 2nd implant for Carys. I feel like we have time to think it through (she's 20 months old now) but the clock is ticking away in my mind. I'll be interested to see how your experience goes.

I love reading about Isaac - he sounds like such a great, happy kid!

11:38 AM  

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