* ruby's hearing??

we adopted ruby when she was 3½ years old, from haiti & she's now 7 - we knew she was deaf & upon her arriving home, we had her checked & found that she was profoundly deaf in both ears

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she was fitted for a CI [cochlear implant] at age 4 & liked it in the beginning, but acting out on the bus one day, she chucked it out the window! - insurance paid for her to get another one [PTL], so we did, but the older she was getting, the more she didn't want to wear it...she wanted to sign - she attends a deaf school, so all her friends are deaf & she wanted to sign only, like them

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about a year or so ago, the 'new CI' started malfunctioning [she did nothing to it] & so we were going to go along with her wishes & not make her wear it [$ was an issue here as we've no insurance, so the replacement cost or the cost for repair, would come out of our pocket & she was so vocal about only wanting to sign only, we used this opportunity & let her]

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she's not wore her CI for almost a year now & has been doing remarkably well [in attitude, actions, etc.] - we began noticing right off, that she'd answer things not only when she was able to read our lips, but if we were across the room, etc. - i spoke to the doctor about this & shared that she was wearing it for 2+ years, but for the past year, she hadn't [& she was loving it] - he said that even though she was profoundly deaf, having & wearing a CI, it taught her to 'listen for sounds' - it made her work extremely hard to pick up voices, as it was a hearing device that was there to help her...not do it for her

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he said that there's a slim chance she does have some hearing in her ear & wearing the CI, taught her to listen better - he said that over time, if we'd not make her wear her CI, she might learn to 'listen better' on her own, without the CI's help - he also said that by having her wear the CI, she might get 'lazy' & learn to rely on it for her hearing & not listen as well

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we've prayed for her for years to get her hearing back & have been noticing great improvements in that area - today i was talking normal at the dinner table & she frowned at me - i signed, "what" & she said, "quiet down, you're so loud!" - LOL - i'm believing she's not even going to need her CI from here on out & will improve over time with her hearing - she's thrilled that she's "getting better" [her words] & that she's hearing things more & more daily

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what started out to be her not wanting to wear her CI, then it messing up & she couldn't wear it, then to us not having the $ to have it repaired, in the end, i feel has been a blessing in disquise - right now, unless things change for the worse, we're not going to plan on having the CI fixed, but instead, we'll continue with our signing on a regular basis, still plan on sending her to the deaf school, still continue praying over her for healing & will wait & let god move as he's already begun

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i feel now, that by getting her a CI in the beginning, it gave her the 'umpf' that she needed to learn to listen [she could've never been taught, that], but then by it messing up, it gave us the 'umpf' we needed to take it off of her & let her be the way she wants to be

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as she gets older, she can always use it if she chooses, but for now, we're gonna put it up & help her listen better & learn more sign language [PTL!] - we'll continue with her at the deaf school as that's where she's gone for a few years now, she's very comfortable there, has friends, etc. & will forever use sign & they do such a good job teaching it to her