At Last - The Decision Had to be Made!
On January 3rd we arrived at Changi Airport with a lot of mixed emotions. We feel that we have done maximum effort for Falisha Hearing Loss Recovery, and deep down inside we still pray for miracle to happen soon. She is so exciting of going to Singapore and we are please that she feel the way she does.
We arrive at 1.10 pm at Changi and being picked up by Arlene. She kindly take us to NUH for the audiometry test which soon been found out to be 4 pm appointment. Falisha’s father go straight to NUS Visitor Lodge with all the luggage for check in.
We start the audiometry test around 5 pm and Falisha hasn’t been any nap since morning. We are so worry that the PAT would be failed due to that reason. Fortunately the PAT going quite well and Falisha is be able to finished all the necessary test remarkably well. The result show that she definitely didn’t improve at all. We will have to do MRI and CT Scan the next day. There goes two parts of the solid requirement to do Cochlear Implant (CI) which is therapist and audiologist recommendation whose both concluded that Falisha is a strong candidate for CI. The only last requirement is medical evidence which will soon being found out through MRI and CT Scan. We headed back to the apartment which is quite nice and fortunately enough on affordable price. Arlene is coming along with us to help us with several question on the CI that we thought to get. We finished discussing it at 11 pm that night. Me and my husband even continue discussing it until almost morning to seek out any other things that we haven’t got to satisfy ourselves on the decision making process the nest day.
Morning has come and we headed to NUH, being driven by Chang, we could come ontime for the MRI and CT Scan. Falisha is smart enough to hold her stomach to fast and sedated quite quick after taken oral sedation. She finished the MRI and CT Scan procedure at 2 pm but still deeply asleep. She woken up with a cheer on her face by 3.30 pm. We directly went up to consult dr. Lynne Lim for the final and round up results. We discuss for almost an hour on the evidence and pros&cons of taking CI. Dr. Lynne had given us two alternatives time for surgery which are January 8th or 15th, since we at first want to do the CI on left ear which is now has infection and needed to be treated first for at least 1 week. Me and my husband then have our own private discussion and finally agreed on same conclusion to have right ear CI on January 8th.
Our main consideraton for come up with that decision are :
1. We know that the time is not on our side, Falisha speech ability WILL deteriorating and that is surely not our goal
2. All medical evidence had pointed the fact that there is no significant difference on the cochlea condition between left and right ear, while the left ear is currently under quite bad infection so it is not a candidate for CI. Postponed it until Jan 15th won’t do much since it’s only a week away. If we have to postponed more than that, all the MRI and CT Scan had to be repeated due to unupdated condition.
3. The more sensitive hearing would be required in right ear since if she had to drive, the closest ear to the traffic sounds is the right ear. Also while she was walking on the street, the right ear is the one which exposed to any sounds of cars or motorcycle.
4. Medical history had pointed out that Falisha’s left ear always took the most hit in relation to infection, and the condition might persist in the future and jeopardize the function of CI.
5. We feel quite comfort with our decision and honestly already quite prepared for all the consequences, financially and psychologically. Even so many clues had been picked up as a hint from Allah SWT to go on with the operation. Hopefully we get it right.
So now we are very cautiously taking care of Falisha with great hope that the surgery and all the followups will be going well and results on best outcome possible. We really appreciated all the supports from family and friends whose helped us made it so far. May Allah always look upon us and give the consent to all the things that Falisha is going to face in her life. Amin.
So we then finally agreed on having the CI procedures on January 8th, 2008 for right ear by Pulsar CI from MedEl, as what dr. Lynne Lim and her team recommendation.
Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore
Friday, January 4th 2008
