Emmi's likes to swim. It is one thing she could do before anyone her age. While she didn't walk until she well over two and talk until three and she struggled to keep up physically with her peers, she was swimming the length of our pool easily at three. Underwater. Swimming, it seems, might be her thing.
I have wondered how this will play out this year, though. In the past, the only swimming the girls really did was in our own backyard. In this house, we choose not to put a pool in. Can I add, that I am loving letting them play outside by their selves! Swimming, this summer, will be at our neighborhood pool. And? Both girls will be on swim team this year. Neighborhood pools and swim team, seem a world away from days when limited ASL and lip reading got us through an hour in the pool. Will her friends remember to tap her, and speak directly to her? None of her current friends sign much. And how necessary will it be for her to hear at swim team practice? At meets? Are these just my concerns because I am hearing, and I can't imagine participating in these events without hearing? Just thinking about it makes me slightly panicked. Like you asked me to swim across the pool with my arms tied to my side. Perhaps Emmi doesn't feel that way though. She hasn't heard in the pool, in the bath, in the rain in years. That is just what she knows.
In any case, I have been thinking about what to do. I have watched the youtube videos of families letting their kids swim with their CI's sealed away in bags. Was I willing to risk it? Would Emmi really want the burden of having them on in the water? I decided the worst I could do was try. I ordered a food saver to seal the CI's in. I ordered swim caps. And yesterday, when it all arrived, we tested in out in the shower.
For the first time since Emmi was one, Emmi heard during a bath. She thought it was funny, but she only lasted a few minutes as she said it was too loud in the bathroom. All of the echoing. She hated the swim caps. That seemed to be the biggest issue. After a search online today, I found Ear Band-Its (a headband that covers the ear). Meant for kids with tubes and earplugs, but perhaps a better option for Emmi.
Later she told me, in a voice that clearly pointed out my stupidity, she doesn't need to hear to swim. Perhaps all of this was in vain. Perhaps she will decide to try it out.
Perhaps I just wasted $350, because maybe, just maybe, this is my issue and not hers.
PS Emmi does want to try it out. She just doesn't seem overly concerned with whether or not she does. If you are interested, here is the video. The swim caps are intended to hold the bag with the processor in place. I found it really hard to get the swim cap on while keeping the coil in place. I was going to attempt to make my own headband, until I found these today.
2 comments:
I hope the ear-bands work to keep the coil/baggie in place! We have one, but haven't tried it out yet (Nolan's ENT lets kids with tubes get water in their ears, as long as they aren't diving more than 3 feet below the surface). We plan on spending time at the lake (unchlorinated water), though, so we'll probably use ours soon.
I can't wait for summer- it is so much easier to keep the kids busy with water toys and the sandbox!
It's great that Emmi is willing to try it and not too upset if it doesn't work out. Whatever makes her comfortable. She might really like it once she's at a pool with so many other people there. It's nice to have options.
And, I agree, I worry sooooooo much more over things that are really necessary! Kids seem to roll with things so much better than adults.
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