Anna has now had all the testing done (ABR, MRI, CT), and we have a definitive diagnosis: bilateral Michel's Aplasia. What this means is that in the third to sixth week of gestational development, Anna's inner ears failed to form normally. Anna does not have a cochlea on either side, and it appears that she also lacks functional auditory nerves. With this diagnosis, Anna is not a candidate for a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant requires functioning auditory nerves and at least some remnant of a cochlea. In layman's terms, Anna is as deaf as you can possibly get! We will be sending off Anna's medical charts to a couple of places for second opinions -- just making sure we are working with the correct diagnosis, since this is apparently a pretty rare diagnosis. In the meantime, we are watching Anna develop and are amazed at how far she's come in a short time. She is accurately identifying letters and colors. She is beginning to string words together to express complete ideas. Her language is coming along. She has even spoken her first word: Papa. I have been reading about Helen Keller and all she accomplished with dedicated parents and teachers. I pray the same is true of Anna. She has the intelligence; let us be all we need to be to give her every opportunity for success, not just academically, but in life.
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