New Date for Zemiel's Operation

Zem will no longer be getting his implants on the 13th of October. Instead, the new date is the 8th of December. The reason being that both his devices are coming from Austria and they first need to be made and sent. One of the Austrian devices is a little more specialised for Zem's left side than the Australian ones (slightly different shape). And it would be a little difficult for Zem to deal with two different types of processor. So Zem will be getting an Austrian device in both his sides. The brand is called
Med-El, and supposedly is easier to map (program) and also have a reputation for better music appreciation and understanding of tonal language. Specialists still can't say if they will work, but we are all willing to try.

Another journey

Sharlene is up and off again. This time it is back to Mackay for a friend's wedding. Not that I would stop her from going, but after living in a house full of noise and life, it is a bit sad to come home to an 'empty' house.

A HUGE thank you to all those who came over to our place last Sunday to celebrate Zem's first year (and our surviving it). We really appreciate it! Zem has recieved some wonderful presents including a toy train, truck, turtle and a number of other things. He loves them all.


Our turf has survived quite well by the looks of things and and our gardens are also going well. Planting tomatoes, corn, spinach and silverbeet at present.

Zem turns 1!

Well it has been an incredibly tiring week, but here we are. It has taken a year to get here, and an awful lot of work has been poured into those months. Sharlene and I have managed to lay down some turf for our front yard. To give true homage to the evolution of our front yard, we ask you to consider that these pictures tell a thousand words.

Good News

On the 11th August, we took Zem to Westmead Children's hospital for a number of tests. These determined if he actually did have auditory nerves at all and whether cochlear implants would ever be an option for him. If not, then he would only ever communicate through sign.

We have been informed that Zem is profoundly deaf up to 105-110 Db. We also were told that he DOES have auditory nerves on each side. The brain picked up information from both nerves (although not as much as a normal nerve). This has led us to think that perhaps cochlear implants would be a good option for him.

The specialists we have seen seem to indicate that both implants would be provided at no expense to us or our health fund. We have suggested and they agree that both the implants be done at the same time. This makes it an eight hour procedure. We are confident that he will hear 'something', however, no one is sure whether the implants will allow him to hear speech.

He has another MRI on the 3rd of October with a view to have the operation in late October/early November. We would appreciate your prayers at this time as we pray for the Lord's guidance in our family's life.

Zem also received his 1 year immunisations yesterday. He will be going for his first ever haircut tonight.

We are hoping to turf the front yard before Zem's birthday. This is my first Father's Day coming up. I missed out on it by a few days last year. It has been a long year. But to be honest, I'm not sure if I want anything. Perhaps that will change over the years. It is still sad to say, but now able to be said that we had a miscarriage at the end of July. We are sad but also understand that, by the sounds of things, the pregnancy was going to be quite high-risk anyway. As always, we place our trust in God and in His timing.

Sharlene seems to be getting plenty of business for her tutoring. I have spent the last few weeks working solidly on our Year 4 programs for the school's accreditation that is coming up next term.

Sharlene is heading north in a couple of weeks, for Karen's wedding. She is looking forward to that.
But that is enough for now. Until next time.