Lisa hears today!!

Hi. Lisa did get her ears turned on today!!This link will take you to the video I posted on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67cvw9McwIg

This video is boring unless you understand that she's heard nothing since April.Her surgery a few weeks ago to install the Cochlear implant went very well, and we've been anxiously been waiting for this day to see the results.Today is not the whole recovery, of course, just the first step in the process she will go throughfor the next year. We were anxious to see what she would have as a starting point.

Todays activation went so well! She understood the audiologist quite well.
She even understood me. I've been able to talk to my wife today! That is cool.

Anyway, the interesting part of the video for me was the number test.The audiologist hid her face behind a folder, and said numbers randomly between1 and 100. So Lisa was to repeat them as she heard them. She gets about 6 out of the 10 right.This is huge, especially considering the device had only been active about 15 min or so... Yesterday for me she would have gotten 2 out of 10. For her mom or Caleb she would have got 4 out of 10.The second run of the test, after a tweaking of the device's settings she got 10 for 10!! (This second test is not on the video.)
Needless to say, we are so excited, and pleased. Lisa is at a great starting point today to recover her hearing. Please do keep praying for her, and praise God for the special care he's shown us through so many of you...

Later today I will post the xray they did today, that actually shows the new bionic part that makes it possible for her to hear.

Some people have asked today how this changes our plans. Well the recovery is not yet complete, of course. It will take most of the school year to get to a high level of hearing.
But we do plan to go back to Mali in June. We'd like to be there at the end of Hilary's school year in Dakar.

Tom & Lisa Seward


PS. Some of you may get this as an email or see this on facebook as well as reading it on our blog.We just want everyone possible to know how well Lisa is doing...