We have a date!

Photo of a Sophono
Alpha 1 hearing device.

After many months of researching options and praying over what God would have for us to do, we've set a date for Marci to have the Sophono implants done.  May 8th is the date of the procedure, and I was thrilled to find out the surgeon is willing to do BOTH sides of his head at the same time! I was told by the audiologist that Marci might have to have one side done now and then wait for several months before the other side could be done. But, praise God, he will be able to have both sides done at the same time!

I have the link to the Sophono website listed here so those of you who are interested in knowing more about the device will have a place to reference things. But for those of you who are not into all the details of what goes into this, I'll give you the short version.

Marci will go in to see the doctor on May 8th. It's an out-patient procedure. They will probably (we'll know more closer to the actual procedure date) knock him out since they will be doing both sides of the head. The surgery takes about 15-20 minutes per side. They make a small incision on the side of the head behind the ear. They open up the scalp and implant this cool little device that consists of magnets.They close Marci's scalp back up and send him on his way. (I told you this was the short version!)

After about four weeks of healing, we'll go back to the audiologist and she will give Marci the little device you see at the top of the page. He will have one for each side of his head. His will be dark brown (to match his hair color). The nifty little hearing aid will have a flat base that is made out of magnets and it will connect to the magnets that are in his head. Then the hearing aid will attach to the base and allow the sounds to be conducted through the bone that the implant sits in. 

Photo of man w/Alpha 1 device.

When we visited the audiologist a few weeks ago, she tried the version that attaches via a hand band. Marci could hear amazingly clear sounds, and he was ready to go home and sit and watch a movie (that's what he told me he wanted to do!). Unfortunately, we could only try out the device in the audiologist's office, and weren't allowed to take it home with us. 

Marci has been talking about his new hearing aids ever since we had our audiologist visit. He's SO excited to be able to hear better, and be rid of the headset he's had to wear for most of his life.

We'd appreciate your prayers for him as we move forward with this. Please pray for him to stay healthy and that nothing would keep us from making that appointment on May 8th. And please pray that the insurance company will hold up their end of the bargain and cover 80% of the financial costs involved (each hearing aid/procedure can run between $4,000-$5,000).