Doctors, Doctors, and more Doctors . . .

Marci having his hearing test
at the audiologist's office.

The past two weeks have seen us visiting the audiologist and the pediatrician, as well as making appointments with an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialist and scheduling a CT scan. Whew! No cause for alarm though. These are all things we'd planned to do with Marci when we returned to the States, and are now just getting around to doing it!

It's been really neat to see how God has put certain people in our path in order to find just the right doctors to visit. Some dear friends of ours have taken their children to a particular pediatrician for several years and recommend her highly. They found out (just before we left to go meet Marci in Hungary) that this particular doctor was born in Hungary! She has lived in the U.S. for many years now, but she still speaks a little Hungarian and she can read enough to be able to translate the medical records that were sent home with us. What a blessing! We found out that Marci had his tonsils out at age 4. This is something we hadn't been told before, but are thankful to know. (Isn't it just like God to care about something like that?)

It was another friend who recommended we visit a particular audiologist. When we arrived in this woman's office I could tell right away that she was the perfect person to be working with Marci and his hearing issues! She was patient and encouraging and she took her time with him. Before we left her office she told me that she would do some "leg work" for us and find us a good ENT . . . someone who specializes in Marci's type of hearing impairment. (For those of you who wish to know more, you can check out Microsia and Atresia.) The very next day she called to give me, not only the information on the ENT, but also a renowned surgeon who specializes in fixing Microsia and Atresia. AMAZING!

We won't know if Marci is a candidate for surgery until after he's had the CT scan and the surgeon can review his files. But it's exciting to know there are options out there for us. They range from having surgery (to repair his ears and ear canals totally), to having the Baha hearing aid installed, to purchasing a new headset hearing aid (he wears one now that he used at his school in Budapest). Any of these options will increase Marci's ability to hear. The surgery could help to increase it to nearly a normal level.

So as you can see, we've had a lot going on the past few weeks, and we have a lot to think and pray about in the days and weeks ahead. We'd appreciate your prayers for us as we venture into areas that are very new to us. We want to help our son in any way we can, but we need to weigh all the options and find out exactly what will be best for him in the long run. We don't take this responsibility lightly, and we trust the Lord to show us exactly what we will need to do at exactly the right time.