Tuesday 22^nd

Charlotte had an appointment at Basingstoke Audiology today and she did very well. They finally managed to get a full set of test results and for the first time in nearly 3 years Charlotte's level of hearing is now much clearer.

Her right ear is almost normal at hearing low frequency sounds which enables her to hear letters such as m,d,b,g,e,a,i,o,r,u,z,w. Normal hearing is around 0 - 20 decibles and in her right ear she measured 20 at low.

The hearing then drops off when tested at high frequency and she is only hearing high frequency in her right ear at approximately 90 decibles. This means, she cannot hear letters such as p,h,g,s,c,h,k,f,s. These letters are very important obviously for developing speech.

It explains why without her hearing aids she instantly recognises words like DADA, BELLY! Its because all these letters are in the low frequency range.

Her audiologist has ordered new hearing aids for Charlotte. As she is now getting older, she chose a bright purple pair (or mommy did). The new hearing aids are of a new technology , will hopefully help her hear high frequency a little better. They work by "pushing" high frequency sounds into a lower frequency range and this hopefully will help Charlotte pick up most letters in her right ear , although they may not sound exactly the same as a normal hearing person would hear them.

Charlotte's left ear remains bad and at all frequencies is only hearing sounds at 90 decibles+. This means, she would be a candidate for a cochlear implant so there will be further tests to come and further big decisions to make probably regarding her left ear. The only sound she would hear from her left ear , even with a hearing aid in, would be a jumbo jet flying past it.

(20th - 29th Clearwater Beach)

13th - 20th Orlando

Thursday 29^th

Mum took Charlotte to the South Of England Cochlea Implant Centre at Southampton Uni today for various appointments including 90 mins of repeat Hearing tests, as her visit in Feb was not successful. She is already seen in Basingstoke but they wanted to conduct their own tests to confirm the levels of hearing at high and low frequency in both her ears.

Just like February , Charlotte was not co-operating and they could get any results. Funding for an Implant is only given to profoundly deaf children with hearing levels at 90 decibels or above. C has tested at various times at 80 and 100 so we need consistent results before any decision can be made.

SOECIC agreed to defer the other Cochela assessment appointments until we have conclusive results which will now be carried out at Basingstoke Hospital which is near where Mum works.

Monday 26^th

There were tears from Lottie this morning, her first day in the Toddlers room (ages 2-3), and she is already one of the oldest and smallest. As mum approached the room C started to breathe quickly, and then it came, the tears and crying. Alfie and all her old friends from Baby room were there but it was not her familiar room.

She soon calmed down when food was produced. It was Chilli con carne for lunch and whereas all the other babies hardly touched their's, including some of the big chunky 3 year old boys,charlotte polished off a double portion. She sure likes her grub, and if spicy even better.

Friday 23^rd St George's Day

Looking back at her Diary entry 2 years ago today Charlotte had just weighed in at 13 lbs 5 oz. she is now approx 25 lbs. She was also just about to go on her first overseas holiday in Majorca. She is now due to fly to Orlando for a Disneyworld Holiday in several weeks time, subject to the airport being open and flights operating normally. We were nervous our holiday would not happen after the UK airports were closed 15th - 21st April due to the Icelandic Volcanic Ash which blew our way. Hoepfully everything will be back to normal by then.

Charlotte is also moving to the "Toddlers" room from next Monday, which is for 2 -3 years olds. Once again she will be the oldest but smallest in her new class. She is spending her last morning with Candice, whom has been with her right from the beginning, having moved with her last time she changed rooms. Mum will be collecting her lunchtime as we all finish midday.

Mummy has just rung to say Charlotte has chickenpox. We noticed a few spots last night but Nursery have confirmed it. Under company rules she is now excluded from Nursery until all signs of it have gone, which could be anywhere up to a week and mean more time off work for Mummy and Daddy. It is a silly rule as by the time the scabs/spots appear it is no longer contagious.

Thursday 25^th

Charlotte had her physio visit today and Pam was very impressed with lotties climbing skills. She said its all good and a very postive sign re the walking. She will only see Lottie every 2-3 months now just to evaluate her.

She will be going to a school next year and we have identified a very good local one which will also have 6 other children with Cerebral Palsy attending. She thinks Charlotte may still be requiring the walking frame by then and will also have a wheelchair as a backup. It may be a longer joruney than we hoped to get her walking and it is still impossible to tell what level she will achieve. It is now apparent things are not going to happen as quickly as we hoped so we must continue to be patient and work with her.

Tuesday 25^th

We took Charlotte to SOECIC, the South of England Cochlea Implant Institute, based at Southampton University, on Tuesday for the preliminary meeting. We went there again today for 3 appointments including an Audiology test but she was playing up and the tests were not conclusive

She will go again for test the week beginning 21st March. They need 2 sets of similar results before confirming what levels she has.If they match the set obtained by Basingtoke then she will not be put forward for an implant. The level in her left ear would fall short of the requirement for funding but they also believe she would have enough combined hearing with aids in for speech development.