Loud Shirt Day

Here is a wonderful picture of James and the Naenae Bunning's crew who came to work in lovely shirts for Loud Shirt Day, supporting Deaf people throughout New Zealand. Thanks heaps to you lovely people who made goobers of yourselves (particularly you, Aunty Jenni - man that shirt is sexy!) for people in need.

Baracuda Baby

And a picture, because who can resist such a cheeky little man!

Hi there, me again

All is still ticking along well here. Another trip to Christchurch and out to Van Asch, and another great appointment, despite chaos and confusion with the flights (First Christchurch Airport was shut the morning we were flying down - so ended up waiting an hour and a bit in two different lines. Then Healthpac didn't book James and i on the flight home, so more panic, but Air New Zealand were lovely and put us on anyway.) Neil and Joanne were nice and pleased with our clever little boy, and his hearing age has caught up with his biological age, so he is doing extra well.
He can now sit up on his own (and only falls over every now and then, or if he gets very excited; all co-ordination goes out the window then) and his motor skills are improving, or so we think. He has two wickedly sharp teeth, that he uses to great glee on everyone's fingers, so you have been warned!

I also have a few more thanks...
Firstly to the Wellington Special Education Team, for some great fundraising that is still continuing.
Secondly, the BNZ Bank team for their mufti day fundraiser
Thirdly, Ruthie and the NZ Post crew, who organised a lovely Theatre evening in town, which was great despite mum's car getting clamped.
And Last but not least, to Angela Povey, a friend of the Whale Family, for her incredibly generous donation.
Thanks so much to you all.

The next fundraiser, for those interested, is at the end of this month. On Saturday the 27th September, we are having a Pumpkin Patch Fashion show, with local kids modeling the new Spring/ Summer '08 season clothing. There will be a chance to win a $50 Patch voucher, raffles, spot prizes for kiddies who come dressed up for the spring/summer theme, and a yummy afternoon tea. If you're interested, contact your local James Representative. Tickets are $7 per person, or $10 per family. It will be out here in Tawa, from 3 - 4pm.

Another Update and some more thanks

WE'RE HALF WAY THERE!!! we have made $15,000.00, which is half of the cost of the implant itself! And a week shy of James' 6 month birthday too! And it's entirely thanks to all you wonderful people who have supported us over the last six months.

So some more of you to thank...
- The Linden Women's Institute (Nana Betty's lovely ladies group)
- Siobhan, Ross and Samantha Gerritson
- Jessica and Hamish Denston
- Monica (Auntie Jenni's sister in law, i think, or perhaps Jenni's brothers friends dog walkers cousin's next door neighbours daughter... just kidding Mon)

No trip to Christchurch this week after all, as Joanne, our Habilitationist, is really sick (Hope you are okay soon Joanne) so hoping to head down sometime closer to the end of the month. James is still soaring away, having a ball. I took him to Mainly Music with Cameron, and he spent the whole time bopping away on his bum and shrieking at the top of his lungs to the songs. I put him across my knees to help Cameron to some of the actions, and he fell asleep in 20 seconds, noise and all, so worn out by the fun.
The weather here has put on the most wonderful show, with sun and flowers the weekend before spring starts, so everyone is happy and glad to be outside again. Cameron spends his days exhausting himself in the garden, and the dog is finally getting the walks she needs. James is discovering the joys of warm sun on a bare bottom, and is happy as a sandboy, (as we all would be if we could lie around bare-arsed all day!)
Here's to spring! Long may the sun continue!

Hello Everyone!!!

Big cheesy grins to all! As you can see, James is thriving, and you wouldn't believe the volume coming out of the child! He is well and truly making up for not hearing for the last few months, and is making sure we can all hear too.

A few people have requested account numbers for donations, so i hope it's all good to put it here.

National Bank (NZ) 06 0549 0330779 00

Please put your name in the particulars, so we are able to thank you wonderful people personally.

2 weeks post switch on, and a Note!

Our first post-switch on appointments down at Van Asch went fantastically on Monday and Tuesday. Neil and Joanne were thrilled with how James is progressing. (As are we to be honest, but we are biased.) It seems at the moment like he is hearing more general sounds with his right ear, but is hearing the higher tones with his left ear, so between the two, is doing really well. This may be a development thing, or a direct result of the damage done to the cochlear - just got to wait and see.

This leads me on to a topic i have been thinking of a lot lately, thanks to some rather ignorant people who seem to enjoy spouting off their opinions on topics they have no understanding of. Firstly, not all deafness is the same. Deafness can be for many reasons - being born deaf, damage while in the womb, damage later in life, structural problems within the ear, viral problems... to name a few. It is not possible to put all kinds of deafness under the same umbrella, and treat them all the same. James' deafness is because of Pneumococcal Meningitis, and so could hear in the womb, and for the first few days of life. Unfortunately for meningitis victims, the damage done to the cochlear actually gets worse over time. Generally within the first year or so after the virus, the cochlear is completely turned to bone, and so is totally useless, and impossible to put an implant in.
Secondly, it is not greed on our behalf to be wanting two implants for James. The prognosis of a meningitis child with cochlear implants is not guaranteed, nor is it guaranteed that they will be able to get the implant in when they try due to the damage done. Therefore by restricting a meningitis victim to one implant, you are halving the chance of them hearing well. And due to the deterioration, we couldn't say in a year 'okay, this one didn't work, lets try the other'. By then it would be too late. James would be left totally deaf for life.
Thirdly, the rest of the world has already come to this conclusion. Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide all fund bi-lateral (two) implants for meningitis people. They consider NZ to be a third world country when it comes to much in the way of health care, and in this case particularly. Our government is being partitioned by the Ear Nose and Throat Surgeons throughout the country for this to be reviewed. We are just too early.
Lastly, as a parent, would you not do the best possible for your child? Would you truly turn to your child and say 'well, the government obviously have a reason, so sorry son, we'll leave you to struggle all your life'. We all want the best life we can give our kids, and if we are able to fix something, why on earth wouldn't we. Please put yourself in ours, or perhaps even James' shoes before opening your mouths.

Some wonderful news

We have had two lots of really great news this week. First up, Mary-Anne, our Neuro-Development lady came around on Wednesday, and after playing all her lovely games with the boys, said that James has now passed the 50% line for his age in developmental milestones, and has caught up with where he should be in almost everything. We knew he would eventually, but he did it earlier than we hoped, so yay for James!!!

Also Lynella came to check on the progress of James' hearing, and is also thrilled with how quickly he's responding to sounds and things. He's a bright little boy, and his hearing age is catching up with his biological age very fast, the little smartie!

Man we're going to have our hands full with these two far-too-clued-on little boys.