First Day of Pre-School

Maggie was able to get in our local public school pre-school program and we love it ! We love that Maggie will have a speech therapist right there at her school.  We also love that she will get a head start on reading, which is very important to children with hearing impairment. The statistics show that hearing impaired children struggle with reading/comprehension and early intervention is key to success. Thankfully, Maggie loves books and would choose reading a book over playing with toys. I believe it has been a combination of her love of books and her early intervention with speech and the bone anchored hearing aid that has helped her so much. Maggie is already reading easy words like CAT, HAT, DOG, FOOT, HOP, MOM and DAD !!!  She sounds words out and knows all her letters/sounds. The other day she said "bank starts with b" when we were at the bank. I can't wait to see what she will be doing after a year of pre-school !!!

BAHA - The Good, Bad and Ugly.

The Good
Maggie can hear in the "normal" range with her BAHA. In comparison, she hears in the "moderate - severe range" without it. It is small and most people don't even know she wears a hearing aid. For the most part it stays on her head securely. Unlike a cochlear implant, she hears normal sounds just like a hearing person but amplified. 

Maggie also Loves her BAHA !! She is very attached to it because she knows that it helps her hear. Her BAHA allows her to live in the hearing world. She can do "normal" things like watch tv, listen to me read a book to her, listen to a movie in the car, hear her brothers play with her - everything ! Without it, she could not hear and do all these things without us shouting in a load voice. 

The Bad
Maggie's Implant site has gotten infected twice now. Also, the skin  will try to grow over her abutment. So far, we have been successful with treating her with oral antibiotics and using a steroid cream. I am praying that this will stop soon, but I know that it could be a chronic problem. In fact, some people have to have the abutment removed if they have a lot of infections. I don't even want to think about that for Maggie. 

Mile High Camping Trip

 

This was our second year to camp at Mile High Campgrounds in Cherokee, North Carolina. It is a very primitive campground with no power/water hookups. Mile High is located on the Cherokee Indian reservation and has some of the most beautiful views of the Smoky Mountains.
 

We like to go in July/August because the weather at Mile High is incredible. It feels like a perfect fall day up on the mountain ! The campground closes mid October so the summer months are the best time to go.
 

We camped out with lots of family this time and had fun just hanging out by the fire, playing the guitar. We brought our camper, but others brought a tent.
 

Hammocks are a must when we camp.
 

We saw lots of Elk at the campground. They usually show up around dinner time and gave us a big show.
 

We loved to just hang out at the campsite, but there's a lot to do around Cherokee. One of my favorite things to do is visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.


We hiked to Clingman's Dome, visited the Historic Mountain Farm Museum in the park and hiked to the historic Mill.

 

We are a camping family and love it !