Ignorant People

"It's people like you that I worried about when I found out my son was deaf" is what I said to 3 people today at a restaurant.
I can only type this out once, every time I even think about it I get upset.
Here is what happened.....
I was getting my car worked on today (thank you Jerry) so I did alot of running around with my Mom. By the time we picked up Jonathan we were ready to go home but I had to go pick my jeep up and Jonathan was hungry. So since we looked and felt like bums we decided to go to bob's big boy...nothing fancy...in, eat and leave.
When we went in there was NO ONE else in the restaurant. They sat us at a table kind of in the back. I think places do that to families with young children as to not disturb other guests...which is fine with me.
About 20minutes after we sit down another party is seated....right next to us (remember...there was NO ONE else in the place). There were 2 older people (woman and man in their mid 60's) and their daughter (probably in her 40's). There were 6 of us at our table and we were talking. Thomas was doing funny things and we were laughing and he can be a bit loud sometimes... I dont blame him being deaf...I blame it on him being a toddler! Out of the corner of my eye I see these 3 people grab their menus, shoot us a look and huff away. I look over at my Mom and say "did you see the look they gave us?" which she responds "good thing you weren't sitting here...they have been doing that the entire time". I think to myself "oh well, no big thing". A bit later we start leaving and I look over at their table and I can see the old couple shaking their heads at me with a disgusted look on their face. My Mom takes Thomas and starts walking out (she has to pass these people) and I see the guy point to his own head, right where Thomas' implant is, and say something about "retarded" and start shaking his head (like "yeah). It took EVERYTHING in me not to hop over a bunch of chairs that were right in front of me, grab this guy buy his old bald head and punch it as hard as I could. I walked over to them and asked "did you guys move because of our noise" in which the daughter and old man turn their heads....so they couldnt even look me in the eye...and the old bag says "we are all tired and that gets on our nerves" in which I looked at her and said "my son is deaf, at times he can be loud but all in all he is well behaved. The thing you were pointing at is a cochlear implant which helps me hear. I am thankful that he did NOT hear what you said about him. You are the type of people that I worried about when we found out our son was deaf. Each one of you are unbelievably ignorant". I wish I could have added something about the Cochlear Implant and what it does for Thomas but I couldnt....I knew that if I didnt get away from them at that moment I would have done something that may have gotten me into trouble.
Honestly, I dont know exactly what I said. I was furious and shaking so bad I could barely contain myself. I really think the old lady thought I was going to go over to them an apologize. She had a completely different thing coming.
Silly me, I worry about kids in school that may give Thomas trouble...I didnt even think of other adults that would pass judgement on a little boy who is so sweet and innocent and just wants to do fun stuff and make other people happy.
I hope those people thought about how ignorant they were. I hope they seen the hurt and anger in my eyes and on my face. I am thank ful Thomas didnt hear what they said about him... I wish I wouldn't have either. Next time, if and when there is a next time, I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and calmly go and try to explain a bit about Thomas and his journey. I have to remember what my Uncle Mark would tell me "Melissa, there are ignorant people out there. You have to learn to ignore them". I would get so upset when people would stare or make comments about my Uncle Mark....but he kept calm. He tried to not let it bother him and he did a wonderful job of showing the rest of us that there is nothing wrong with being a little different...in fact, where all different in our own ways.
p.s.
For those of you who read this and do not know about my Uncle Mark....he was born with cerebral palsy but he never let it slow him down. A true inspiration to myself and our family.

More Pictures.....

I Love this Picture

Thomas and Jonathan got their pictures taken last week. They all turned out fantastic but this one, when I seen it, I just fell in love with it.

Thomas looks so innocent, and his big brother is embracing him and giving him a little peck on the cheek. I also love that Thomas CI is visible. I think the photographer really tried to "hide" it in most of the pictures. In fact, when this picture popped up on the screen she swept past it...I asked her to go back since I didnt get a good look at it. I was a bit ticked but I didnt let it get to me. Some people are ignorant and that's just life!!!!

Check up with Dr./ First day of school

Nope, I am not writing about us seeing the pediatrician....Thomas had an appointment with his surgeon this past Tuesday. It was a very quick appointment....this dr. doesnt mess around! lol
He said that Thomas site looks fantastic...you can't even see where the incision was. The tiny stitch that was still sticking out was snipped off in about half a second.
Neither of us brought up a 2nd implant but there was a woman in the room with us (I think it may have been an intern) who asked Dr. M when he typically did 2nd implants. He told us that it's usually 6mths/1yr after the 1st implant but that it was, of course, completely up to the parents. So, Thomas has another appointment in December, that is when Dr. M wants to know our decision.
He did ask a few somewhat odd questions. He asked if Thomas watched TV..which he really doesnt. There is SOOOOO much more to do in his world than to waste time and watch TV. Than he asked if we had a dog. I told him No, but we do have 2 cats...he said "good for you". And that was the end of the conversation. Not sure why he asked those ?'s ....he may have been having an "off" day!!!
So, Thomas is doing wonderfully. Jonathan started school this past Tuesday and he was ECSTATIC about his new teacher and seeing all his old friends again. The past week has flown by and he is enjoying his new classroom/teacher and hanging out with friends again. I can't believe how big he is getting. He walked out of the bathroom today with just his boxers on and I just stared at him. I remember holding him when he was first born....now he is 8yrs old....time really does fly by!!!!

Ear Infection????

I am not sure what is going on with Thomas these last couple of days but he has been out of sorts...just a bit. He has had loose bowels for the past almost 4 days...I had been thinking it was just the sweltering heat and the fact that whenever we drive anywhere its in a very hot/not air conditioned jeep. Today he started rubbing and pulling at his left ear. I called the pediatricians...twice....waited on hold almost 15 minutes both times until I finally hung up. I am going to try to call again tomorrow morning and *hopefully* we can get in tomorrow morning to see what is going on with our Thomas.

Ahhhhnnnnn

I finally noticed that when Thomas calls out to Jonathan he will say "aahhnn" (like Jon without the J). I really noticed it yesterday after Jonathan left to sleep over my Mom's house. Thomas and I were standing inside waving "bye bye" to Jonathan and Mama and as they drove away Thomas looked at me like "why aren't we going?". Than he started with the "ahn" and looking around for him.
This also reminded me of the night before. The boys were taking a bath together and Thomas is always out first. He likes the water but get's bored easily while Jonathan adores the water and when we are at any waterpark (indoor or outdoor) he could spend ALL day swimming and playing. So Thomas got his massage and pj's on. He went into the living room and was yelling "ahn" (which at the time didnt know what he was referring to) but than he popped up on Jonathan's new papasan seat (that Jonathan received for his birthday and that only Jonathan or his stuffed animals can sit on). Thomas sat there for a moment and realizing that Jonathan wasnt there trying to rip him off of it, started yelling "ahn, ahn, ahn" and I yelled into the bathroom "Jonathan, Thomas threw all your dogs off of your chair and he is sitting on it" to which I received "MOM...get him off my chair!!! THOMAS....I am going to get you" and than Thomas started laughing and hopped off the chair and ran into his room to "hide" (he will put a blanket half over his head and sit there for half a second).
Jonathan starts school tomorrow (Tuesday). Today we go to an open house to see Jonathan's new room, meet his new teacher (a student teacher he had teach last year for a few months and Jonathan LOVED him) and to get acquainted with school again. Thomas has a dr.'s app. tomorrow at 10am. So I had thought that I would run in to school with Jonathan, make sure he gets to his room and is OK. Than head over to Thomas' appointment. I told Jonathan my plan and he looks at me and says "it's OK Mom, I can walk in by myself". to which I assure him that I want to walk in with him but I wont be able to stay long. He responds "no, really Mom, I want to walk in by myself". I held back my tears. "is that OK with you?" he asks. Oh yes, that's fine Jonathan...I forgot you are 8 now and are pretty independent. He smiles at me and walks away!
It's funny how old he has gotten but still wants to cuddle and get kisses (dont tell his friends). The other day Jonathan and Thomas bumped heads and I immediately picked up Thomas, kissed him on the head and he was fine. Jonathan kept crying and I asked him what the problem was. He told me that he was hurt since they BOTH hit their heads and only Thomas got the kiss on his head and the hug. I immediately called him over to me where I gave him many kisses on his head and a HUGE bear hug. He felt better and was able to continue playing.
What funny boys I have!!!

Progress.....

I have to admit that I had been a bit bummed out that Thomas' vocabulary isnt growing every single minute! I have a notebook that I fill in with words he has tried to imitate us say and words that he will use on his own. This past week I havent really added any words. So, I ask our therapist today if she thinks there may be something wrong with the processor and after listening to him and seeing how much he understands she doesnt think anything is wrong with the processor. His receptiveness is growing!!!!
The other day i was washing the dishes and he came up to me and wanted to go "out". I looked at him and said "Thomas, you have no shoes on. Go in your room and get your shoes". I watch him go in his room, pick out his favorite flip flops and bring them back to me in the kitchen. He put them down and sat right next to them and looked up at me like "Hey Mom...I did what you asked, now get these shoes on and lets GO"!!!!
He is not so shy of strangers now either. In fact, he loves attention and expects when he smiles at them they should instantly show their gratitude and start oohin and aahing over him. He has such a wonderful personality and he is constantly making all of laugh.
Jonathan starts school in 4 days. UGH!!! I cant believe the summer has gone by so quickly. Today we got pictures taken and than spent the day walking around the mall. Jonathan picked out a toy at Disney andwe ate lunch at the food court. It was just the 3 of us and we had a good time. Thomas is napping on my bed now....I guess no 530pm bedtime today! I felt bad for him. We left for therapy at 930am....than spent the day at the mall!
Well, Thomas just woke up so I have to go!!!

Not much new....

Not much new around here. Jonathan starts school on the 21st....we cant believe the summer went by so fast. We did keep busy though. Cedar point, Geauga Lake and Kings Island were visited numerous times...we do have some plans to go some places in the Fall,too! The one trip we wanted to do this summer , visit my sister in law down in South carolina, hasnt happened. I know Jim wants to try to squeeze it in this week before school starts but I dont think it will be possible. I told him we should wait until Jonathan has a few days off of school in a row than we can go down. We'll see!
Thomas is doing well. His receptive language seems to be gaining now. When we tell him to "jump" he will say "ump" and than bounce up and down..without his feet ever leaving the ground! lol He is constantly saying "up" and "mama" "mom"...he has been saying "dada" but not quite sure if he knows that Jim is "dada". Thomas leaves his CI on for the most part but when I try to stick his hearing aid in his ear he wants nothing to do with it and will pull it out and hand it to me.
One thing Thomas loves to do is EAT, EAT EAT!!!! We still give him stage 3 baby food for when we are out and about but when we are home he eats what we eat (for the most part). Much tinier bites! lol I get easily FREAKED out about choking so I dont mind if he eats baby food until he is 3! lol I was the same way with Jonathan and he turned out just fine.
We go back to see Thomas' surgeon on the 21st (the same day that Jonathan starts school) and I am curious to see if he will mention anything about a 2nd implant. There is still one tiny stitch hanging out of the incision (that is about 98% healed) so the dr. can snip that out at the appointment.
So this is our last week of not being on a tight schedule. Although we do wake up early we dont "have" to be out of the house by a certain time. Starting in 2 wks...we will have to be dressed and ready to go before 8am. Most parents I have talked with give me a big smile about school starting.....I feel like a definite minority here! I am sad to have Jonathan go back to school. He is my little buddy and we have such great times together that I will miss him until we go pick him up at 3:15pm (or almost 4pm when he takes the bus home). I try not to show any sadness in front of him though. I want him to keep that intense love for learning...and not worry about what is going on at home! Plus, I am sure he misses his friends...he has only seen a few of them during the summer.
Have a great weekend!!!!!