Corbin's first carousel ride was a success; he was the sole rider, and as such did not have to share it with any other children. That always makes everything easier! He was taking his horse-riding very seriously. He held on the entire time and kept telling me: "I riding it, Mama!" Today was a productive day. We woke up very early to brave the bay area traffic. Mom drove us over to Palo Alto for a visit to the California Ear Institute. Corbin was very brave and patient while the tech took a "picture" of his little ear. The CT scan took 45 seconds, and was very cool to watch. The technology is amazing! Anyway, I sat across from him and held his hand while he sat still as a statue for the image to complete. The result? Dr. Roberson says Corbin has an intact cochlea; his inner ear is developed, but the necessary anatomy to create an ear canal is not developed. Thus, he is not a candidate for the canalplasty/atresia repair (to date, but the doctor noted that there is a SLIM possibility his inner workings could grow a little more...). Anyway, I sort of suspected this news, and I am okay with it. We will proceed with meeting Dr. Reinisch in the very near future and ask him to be the surgeon who makes the Medpor ear for Corbin. He will have the illusion of a canal, and then at age 5 we will get the BAHA implant. BAHA is the bone-anchored hearing aid. It will transmit some sounds via vibrations off bones in his skull. It's a tiny little magnetic clip implanted behind the Medpor Ear. If you want more information, visit the California Ear Institute's website. We are happy to have started the ear journey, and I will certainly be posting more information here over the next year. Hugs!
