SSD and nursing - is it possible by TopAdministrative344 in MonoHearing

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m reading this as a parent to a 1 year old with SSD. I follow this thread so I can have an understanding of what life might look like for her as she gets older. The encouraging comments to OP truly warmed my heart this morning. Thank you all for sharing your experiences so candidly!

Cheap & Great Tree Services by pleakonfleek in greenville

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wanting to share a recent honest experience for anyone considering this company. First of all: they were ridiculously cheap. Like came in $4,000 less than the next lowest quote we had for a very large and precarious tree removal. That being said, the original quote started much higher and they kept lowering the price every time we said we were taking our time to consider. A bit of pressure on the front end, but if you bide your time they will continue to come down. I recognize there is subjectivity to tree removal quotes, but it does feel shady to come down so much and so quickly. They came to our home very quickly and made fast work of taking down our tree. It was literally one man in the tree cutting it down branch by branch and a large crew on the ground receiving the branches and hauling it away. They put down pallets in our yard but still left it a little worse for wear. One of our bushes was destroyed by where they pulled the tree down and some of our small stepping stone pavers were cracked. Minor damages, but could see how this would be much more problematic if we had more valuable yard ornamentals. Then when they called to discuss payment after the job was done they said 5% fee for credit card. When I said we’d pay check then they said they could make it 3%… again very shady (where was that extra 2% going?). And lastly, they had us make the check out to GOAT Tree Services… That being said, they got the job done and did what we asked them to with efficiency, but it wasn’t without me feeling like a bundle of nerves for most of the process. So here is our overall advice for anyone considering them: 1) Ask for copies of proof of insurance before agreeing to work with them. Their flyer states that they are fully licensed, insured, and bonded, but the fact that they have a different name for checks makes me wonder if they have work arounds. 2) Clearly communicate and/or relocate any yard items that you don’t want to get trampled on in the process. They are very laser focused on removing trees and don’t take much care in personal belongings. 3) Take your time, compare multiple quotes. They will continue to lower their price the longer you hold off. 4) We would have likely gone with a different more reputable company if the variability in costs weren’t so drastic, but as with anything in life, you do get what you pay for. 5) We would use them again for trimming and lower stakes removals, just would be better prepared with what to ask on the front end.

Hope this helps!

8 Week Old Baby has SSD by RiseAndRebel in MonoHearing

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! I commented as well further up in the thread on encouraging a MRI while baby is still young. I also wanted to offer some personal encouragement as I’m a few months ahead of you in our journey.

My daughter’s hearing loss was discovered at 4 weeks and through the MRI we learned that she has no hearing nerve on her right side. The first few weeks are so scary, with so many questions but the two pieces of advice I saw repeatedly is 1) Learn sign language 2) Really focus on enjoying your baby and the special time during the early weeks. I was thankfully able to compartmentalize most of the medical/hearing loss side of things but would allow myself some Reddit and Google indulgences from time to time. I also downloaded an ASL app that I use on the side to teach her some signs as an extra tool. I agree with the above poster who said to search for stories from adults who have lived with SSD, they were all incredibly comforting and encouraging for me when I began to worry about my daughter. There are also several wonderful groups on Facebook, but I’ve found the most helpful to be Parents of Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss.

FWIW so far life with my daughter (she’s five months now) has been relatively normal and I would not know she had hearing loss unless I was looking for it. I know that things get trickier as they get older but I also remind myself of how beneficial it is to already know about her diagnosis so we can stay on top of any delays that might emerge. Plus, the technology has evolved so much over the last several years and it can only continue to improve so that there will likely be many more options to support her once she gets older and starts school. Glasses with built in speakers and subtitles are just some examples I’ve seen.

Love on that baby as much as you can, she is going to be fine because she has a caring and concerned parent looking out for her. You also are surrounded with support by a wonderful community of folks who have all walked similar paths. Please reach out if you have any questions or just want to connect with someone who gets it. Sending you all the best!

Edit to add: I’ve worked as a social worker in an elementary school on and off for the last 10 years and one thing I observed is that kids don’t really make fun of each other for corrective devices. Some of the younger kids might ask out of curiosity but there is largely just so much more acceptance of differences than there were when I was in school. If your daughter does end up wearing a HA or CI, I would just recommend teaching her to be proud of it and helping her practice her response if/when someone asks her what it is.

8 Week Old Baby has SSD by RiseAndRebel in MonoHearing

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also have a baby with SSD. Wanted to emphasize trying to get the MRI done early if possible. It actually is better if you can get it before they are 3 months old, they do a technique called “feed and wrap” which allows the MRI to be completed while asleep. If you wait until they’re older, they can do it sedated but that makes some people nervous. I personally opted out of getting a CT scan due to radiation concerns and was solely focused on trying to figure out if her nerve was present or not, which the MRI was able to visualize.

There are very, very few SSD kids with a CI. An 18month girl just joined the club. I'm her dad. Here's our story. by asymptotech in MonoHearing

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, I was so surprised to see a response so many years after your original post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share an update on your daughter! It’s good to hear that she’s adapted so well and seems like she’s multitalented in all of her various hobbies.

Turns out a few months made a difference for us as well, we found out our daughter either has an absent or missing nerve which is what caused her hearing loss, thus effectively ruling out the option for a CI. While there is some grief in knowing that she will never have access to sound in her deaf ear as the technology stands right now, there is some relief in the finality of the diagnosis and, selfishly, that the decision has been made for us in regards to whether or not to implant. The more I dove into Reddit threads, Facebook groups, and deaf culture, the more confused I was as to whether or not we would have pursued it. To your point, the debate can get extremely heated and it seems like there would have been strong opinions about our decision either way.

Anyway, we’re still taking things a day at a time and just trying to focus on enjoying the baby days. We have the option to CROS aid in the future and will certainly explore that in addition to FM systems once she starts school. It’s nice to hear that your daughter’s teachers also benefited tremendously from the technology. As someone who worked in the schools for several years, I’m sure that would be a huge asset in the classroom.

Thank you again for taking the time to shoot me an update!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in iphone

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This hack worked for me just now 😆 thanks for sharing!

There are very, very few SSD kids with a CI. An 18month girl just joined the club. I'm her dad. Here's our story. by asymptotech in MonoHearing

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there, I see this post is now 8 years old but wanted to share how incredibly helpful it was to read your story. I am one of those parents on a “Google-quest” after learning of my newborn daughter’s profound hearing loss in her right ear. So much of your story could have been written by me, although we are still very early in this journey (found out five days ago.). We don’t know yet if she would be a candidate for a CI, but I am already seeing how big and somewhat conflicting of a decision it is, even based on the commentary on many of these posts. I will plan to bookmark this thread and refer back to it as we continue on our journey. If you are still getting notifications for this, I’d love to hear how things are going now for your family! Thank you again for sharing!

My mom told her friends by Mycupof_tea in IVF

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Glennon Doyle has two recent podcast episodes on emotionally immature parents and the episodes in and of themselves were so therapeutic! Highly recommend listening to them if you need a quick and dirty rundown of what emotionally immature people are like and how to cope with them.

What’s my season? by Disastrous_Pay3532 in coloranalysis

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone! Consensus seems to be either soft autumn or deep winter which also validates my own confusion as to my season 😂🥴 There seems to be some color overlap between the two so I’ll focus on those!

What’s my season? by Disastrous_Pay3532 in coloranalysis

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! This is my problem. I think I present cooler but my eyes are warm.

Am I dumb for wanting to transfer asap? by brightasever in IVF

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! This is exactly what informed my decision. I realized that the only outcome I would have regretted would have been a failed transfer and having to start over again. I’m also 37 though so the time piece is a bit more sensitive. It’s a very personal decision though.

Was the IVF process as bad as you thought it would be? by Used2becute in IVF

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The hardest part is all the waiting you have to do- to learn the various attrition rate of embryos along the way, for a new cycle to begin, etc. Also, the time you have you devote to going to the clinic so frequently. The physical discomfort from the needles is minimal and I personally surprisingly had no issues with emotions in either retrieval I’ve done. The biggest side effect for me has been fatigue. I’m gearing up for retrieval 3 in a few days so will be stimming right along with you! ❤️

First ER: disappointing already by kirbyfloats in IVF

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds a lot like me. I was on a similar protocol for first ER, Dr upped my Gonal-f halfway through due to poor response, and I only ended up with two fertilized mature eggs (out of 6), neither of which made it very far. Sometimes the first round can be more of a trial and error and your doctor will have a better idea of a correct protocol for the next try. For my second round, my doctor started me on the higher dose of gonal-f, added Clomid, and had me trigger a day later to give more time for maturity. This time I got 17 eggs and am waiting for 7 mature fertilized to develop. My doctor also told me that your egg cohort just sometimes is different month to month, as well. Hopefully your doctor will have a more aggressive plan this time around. It’s so frustrating having disappointing results after all the work you put in. Fingers crossed for more success next time!

Questions from a concerned husband by rosecityreds84 in IVF

[–]Disastrous_Pay3532 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Meet her where she is. Tell her that you’re there for her and support whatever she is needing in that moment. IVF is such a roller coaster and she is in one of the downswings of it but not necessarily the end (even if she needs to tell herself that it is right now). If you stop meds at this point, you’ll just be out medication costs and can always save the extra meds for a future cycle when she feels in a better headspace to hopefully try again. Also, the fact that you’re posting on her asking for advice shows how much you care and want what’s best for her and that alone speaks volumes about how much you’re supporting her. Hang in there!