{"id":16743,"date":"2011-11-21T22:08:42","date_gmt":"2011-11-22T03:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=16743"},"modified":"2011-11-21T22:56:25","modified_gmt":"2011-11-22T03:56:25","slug":"hudson-couple-makes-decision-to-get-a-cochlear-implant-for-3-year-old-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/11\/21\/hudson-couple-makes-decision-to-get-a-cochlear-implant-for-3-year-old-son\/","title":{"rendered":"Hudson couple makes decision to get a cochlear implant for 3-year-old son"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hudson couple makes decision to get a cochlear implant for 3-year-old son<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 20, 2011<\/p>\n

By JESSICA COOLEY\/The Lufkin News<\/p>\n

HUDSON \u2014 Three-year-old Jaxon Baxter traces letters on the shirt of his dad,
\nDaniel, with one hand while gesturing with the other. Looking at her son
\nwith admiration and flashing him a big grin, his mom, Meagan, explains he\u2019s
\nsigning the letters. It\u2019s a day like any other in the Baxter household,
\nexcept Jaxon, born with a genetic defect manifesting itself as deafness, can
\nhear more clearly with the help of a cochlear implant. It was turned on for
\nthe first time last week.<\/p>\n

The decision to go the cochlear route was not an easy one for the Hudson
\ncouple, as deaf culture tends to frown on it, but they went through with the
\nprocedure with the desire to give Jaxon the opportunity to decide for
\nhimself one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked to another parent and his thought process with his daughter was,
\n\u2018I can always get her cochlear implants and she can learn sign language and
\ntalk. If she\u2019s 18 and wants to take it out, she can always have it
\nremoved,\u2019\u201d Meagan said. \u201cAt least he knew he gave her that chance. That\u2019s
\nhow I\u2019ve been thinking ever since. I just want him to have that chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point if he decides he doesn\u2019t want it, he can stop,\u201d Daniel said.
\n\u201cFor it to be beneficial, they have to get it done as early as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initially the Baxters believed it was chronic ear infections causing Jaxon
\ndelays in speech and responding to sound. In an attempt to correct the
\nproblem, Jaxon had tubes put in his ears when he was 15 months old.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said that after having tubes put in, with most kids, almost
\nimmediately, there is improvement. We had that done, and over the next
\ncouple of months there was no improvement,\u201d Daniel said, shaking his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only sounds he would make, he would literally just say, \u2018ahhhh,\u2019 and
\nthat was it,\u201d Meagan added.<\/p>\n

Going back to local pediatricians, Jaxon was referred to Texas Children\u2019s
\nHospital in Houston for an auditory brainstem response test. The test
\ndetects the hearing nerve\u2019s response to sounds. After this test, Meagan and
\nDaniel learned their son was deaf.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first lady who told me he was deaf freaked me out a lot,\u201d Meagan
\nrecalled. \u201cShe was just like, \u2018So your son is deaf.\u2019 I was like, \u2018So that\u2019s
\nit? There is nothing else you can do?\u2019 She said, \u2018He\u2019s deaf.\u2019 I just sat
\nthere.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until a blood test at Texas Children\u2019s in Houston revealed
\nJaxon\u2019s deafness was caused by a recessive gene Meagan and Daniel both
\ncarry, Connexin 26, the couple stopped blaming themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe felt a lot better after that because we knew it wasn\u2019t anything we had
\ndone,\u201d Meagan said.<\/p>\n

Because of the gene, there is a 25 percent chance their next child could be
\ndeaf and a 50 percent chance of them carrying the gene, Daniel said.<\/p>\n

Until Jaxon came along, their only exposure to anyone deaf was a family
\nmember\u2019s little brother, Josh. They asked his opinion on the cochlear
\nimplant and were left with mixed feelings from his answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cJosh said he never wanted it, and knew friends that had it years ago and
\ndidn\u2019t like them. Years ago, they were a lot bulkier and not nearly as
\nadvanced,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cThen, like Megan was saying, there\u2019s the deaf
\nculture aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo them, that\u2019s who you are,\u201d Meagan said. \u201cYou lose that when you have a
\ncochlear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJosh was iffy about the cochlear implant, so at first we were on the fence
\nabout it, but then we started talking more to his sign language therapist
\nand doctors at Texas Children\u2019s Hospital,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n

It was only after Jaxon\u2019s progress with hearing aids plateaued earlier this
\nyear that they began seriously exploring the possibility of having the
\ncochlear implant procedure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis past January, he was able to start deaf ed at Trout. They told us to
\nreally give the hearing aids a good shot, we would need to give it a few
\nmonths,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis sign language improved, but not really his speech,\u201d Meagan said. \u201cThe
\nsign language, he picks up so fast, it\u2019s ridiculous. He knows more than we
\ndo.\u201d<\/p>\n

An MRI, EKG, blood tests, counseling and a thousand questions later, Jaxon
\nwent in for surgery at Texas Children\u2019s Hospital on Oct. 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had the initial surgery to put the internal part in. They make an
\nincision behind the ear, flap the ear forward, drill through the mastoid
\nbone and then drill straight through the cochlea. Then they thread the
\nelectrodes to the cochlea,\u201d said Daniel, who is a registered nurse by trade.
\n\u201cAfter they put the electrodes in, they drill into the skull and make a well
\nso the external piece will lay flat. After that, everything is put in place.
\nThen we had to wait a month to have it activated with the external piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Nov. 9, Jaxon went back to Texas Children\u2019s to have the cochlear
\nactivated. While the initial turn-on was a big step for Jaxon, it\u2019s been
\nlittle moments throughout the last week that have led Daniel and Meagan to
\nbelieve they made the right decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting him from school earlier this week, I had on a Josh Abbott Band CD
\nin the car and he heard the violin or fiddle. He was like, \u2018music,\u2019 Meagan
\nsaid, signing the word. \u201cHe was smiling so big the whole way home. It\u2019s
\nlittle things like that where I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, my gosh, he can hear.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he\u2019s trying harder to speak correctly; of course, you have to stop him
\nand make him face you, but he\u2019s doing better with longer words and
\nsyllables,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cHe\u2019s trying harder for the different letter sounds
\nin the words. He\u2019s noticing that there\u2019s more to that one word he kind of
\nknew and could babble out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the last week-and-a-half of Jaxon having a cochlear, Meagan said she has
\nnoticed more stares and whispers from people when they are out in public.
\nWhile the extra attention doesn\u2019t bother her, she said she wishes people
\nwould ask questions instead of staring.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people just stare at him and the device he wears, and then some
\npeople do ask questions,\u201d Meagan said. \u201cIt\u2019s OK to ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As to society\u2019s perception of deafness as a handicap, the Baxters said they
\nwould never put that label on their healthy, happy child.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very fortunate that Jaxon\u2019s only problem is hearing loss,\u201d Daniel
\nsaid. \u201cI don\u2019t view him as handicapped in that way. Seeing other kids that
\nhave more problems than him, it would almost be insulting to them to call
\nhim handicapped. He is perfectly normal besides the hearing loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the family\u2019s future plans, Jaxon\u2019s progress with the cochlear on his
\nright ear will be evaluated, and if it appears he is progressing well, he
\nmay have the left side done, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctors told us 80 to 90 percent of the benefit of cochlear he\u2019ll get
\nfrom just one, so a second one is just for fine-tuning,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cThey
\nsaid they weren\u2019t even going to discuss the second one until he\u2019s had this
\none for three months and we can see how well he is progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this works like we\u2019re hoping it will, he\u2019ll be able to go mainstream in
\nschool. He could even go to Hudson,\u201d Meagan said. \u201cWe\u2019re just thankful for
\nthe progress we have for now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jessica Cooley\u2019s email address is jcooley@lufkindailynews.com.<\/p>\n

Source:
\nhttp:\/\/lufkindailynews.com\/news\/local\/article_9d065246-1319-11e1-b7f6-001cc4c03286.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hudson couple makes decision to get a cochlear implant for 3-year-old son November 20, 2011 By JESSICA COOLEY\/The Lufkin News HUDSON \u2014 Three-year-old Jaxon Baxter traces letters on the shirt of his dad, Daniel, with one hand while gesturing with…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4621,11665,11672,1554,24,1845,11671,153,1245,20,11666,11673,11667,11668,6802,11670,191,17,11669,11674],"class_list":["post-16743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-article","tag-baxters","tag-blood-tests","tag-cochlear-implant","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-education","tag-ekg","tag-hearing-aid","tag-hearing-loss","tag-houston","tag-hudson","tag-jaxon-baxters","tag-jessica-cooley","tag-josh-abbott-band","tag-lufkin","tag-mri","tag-sign-language","tag-texas","tag-texas-childrens-hospital","tag-the-lufkin-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4m3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12692,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/12\/24\/born-deaf-dunbar-second-grader-wins-uil-prize-for-storytelling\/","url_meta":{"origin":16743,"position":0},"title":"Born-deaf Dunbar second-grader wins UIL prize for storytelling","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"December 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Born-deaf Dunbar second-grader wins UIL prize for storytelling Posted: Sunday, December 19, 2010 12:15 am | Updated: 6:47 pm, Sat Dec 18, 2010. 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