As we approach the year anniversary of Tommy's CI surgery so much has changed for him and for our family. For starters, the only way I can describe this child is exuberant, and I don't mean that in the teacher report card comment kind of way. He truly has a huge spirit that lights up the room. The past year we've seen him grow from a terribly frustrated little boy who was locked in a space that despite the best intentions and efforts from staff and parents alike, he was still a mystery to us. We knew he was a whip smart kid that didn't have the range of language skills to fully tell us what he knew or felt. Now we're looking at a completely conversational child that is insanely social and filled with pride about his CI and hearing aid that "help him hear better." Switching schools turned out to be such a godsend and the staff at Rock Creek Valley has embraced Tommy from the moment he sauntered into the classroom. To say that he's thrived is an understatement. He needs/loves the routines, the ten teachers, the cafeteria lunch, his speech teacher...it's all been incredible. He loves his Deaf friends, his Hard of Hearing friends, and his hearing friends all equally. His girlfriend has bilateral pink CIs although he has developed a recent flirtation with one of his hearing friends, Ava.
Crying tears for our son in the early days, months and years was a common occurrence especially because we didn't have a long term outlook that would guide our expectations. We just had the day to day successes and struggles. Now just one year from his CI surgery we can see clearly for the first time. Tommy Brown is going to be just fine.
I just saw this on a friend's blog...Talk is cheap, unless you're deaf, then it's priceless...
This edition of tommyshearstory is dedicated to the incomparable Cecelia Wett. A few rare birds are meant to teach kids like Tommy. Ms. Wett is one of them and we're so thankful.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Ms. Wett is awesome! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Tommy has made so much progress over the course of a year. I almost cried while reading this.
Did you know that there was a deaf dancer on SYTYCD recently? I don't watch, but I read about it on facebook.
See you at the end of year show. :)