The Ritchie Family: An American Dream

By Salina Ritchie
Grand Junction, CO

I’m living the typical American dream. I have an amazing husband who works very hard so I can be a stay at home mom and care for our children. My days consist of running my kids to school, several extracurricular activities, and therapy. Motherhood has come very easy to me. I’m not saying it hasn’t come with challenges but it is my life and it is all I know. I am the person I am today because of my children. They are a blessing.

I have three children. Jordan was born in late 2004. My pregnancy was normal and he arrived within days of his due date. Things were going well. I was adjusting to being a sleep deprived proud mommy to an adorable eight week old when, to my surprise, I found out I was expecting again. This time my pregnancy wasn’t as carefree as my first. I was exhausted because I was caring for a newborn, breastfeeding, and pregnant. I had a lot of support from friends and family (thank God) or I don’t think I would have made it. Just two days before Jordan’s first birthday, we welcomed Jayden into the world.

My hospital stay wasn’t any different than the first time around until it was time for Jayden’s newborn hearing screening. He failed. I was confused because I didn’t understand how this machine worked and what the results meant. The technician explained that many children who arrive via c-section have fluid in the middle ear and will often pass a week or two after delivery. That gave me false hope. After I had Jayden tested a half dozen times with three different people, I was referred to our awesome audiologist. (I now know that two screens in the hospital and one as an outpatient is the maximum recommended before getting diagnostic testing done.) We scheduled an ABR. They didn’t have good news for me. I was alone at this last appointment. My husband was home with Jordan. I was not ready for what she was about to tell me:  Jayden had severe to profound loss in both ears. I was devastated. I felt like I had lost a child. The audiologist and I sat in silence for a long time as tears streamed down both of our faces. As upset as I was, I didn’t spend very much time grieving. I gave myself a pep talk and decided I was going to educate myself on everything involving hearing loss. Jayden was fitted with bilateral hearing aids and joined solo and group speech therapy. He is in his third year at our local centerbased program now. He is very outgoing and makes friends easily. He enjoys Little Warriors Pee-Wee Wrestling Club and lots of other activities.

We all know every mommy needs a little Princess and we call her Lily. She came to us in the spring of  2008. We were over the moon when the doctor said “It’s a GIRL!” Little did I know I would be reliving the days with Jayden. Everything was the same as it was with Jayden. Same doctor ,same room, different diagnosis. My Lily was completely deaf.  It was heartbreaking the first time and equally as heartbreaking the second time but the worst blow was yet to come. Lily and Jayden’s hearing loss is genetic and was passed on from both myself and my husband. All I could think was “I did this to my babies.” Luckily this wasn’t my first time around the block and I knew exactly what to do. I had Lily fitted with hearing aids at four weeks and continued using them until we decided that a cochlear implant was the best fit for her and our family.
The decision about the implant wasn’t easily made and it took months of back and forth discussion between my husband and I. He wasn’t willing to let some doctor cut into his child’s head to implant a device that may or may not work. I felt that she was already deaf and nothing could hurt her hearing further, and if we didn’t give her this opportunity we would be holding her back. So in the end we decided to get cochlear implants. Just before her first birthday, she was implanted on her right side. In June of 2009, she was implanted on her left. The results have been amazing. She talks and uses sign language, something our whole family works on everyday.
Both kids see the same therapist who also makes sure that Jordan doesn’t feel left out. Jayden’s teachers at school are also amazing. You don’t often have teachers who truly care about your child and their success in the classroom and out. Our Colorado Home Intervention facilitator has been great with our entire family. She has worn many hats in the three years she has been with us. This is my American dream and I will continue to be grateful for all of these blessings I have been given. God gave me these precious kids because he knew I was the best person for the job. I couldn’t agree with him more.

I look forward to serving the families on the western slope as I learn more about hearing loss myself. I strive to support families by providing support and information in a variety of ways.  Help may be needed in the form of educational materials, connection to a new resource, emotional support, or simply an ear to listen.  Connecting families on the Western Slope is one my biggest wishes.  It is so valuable for children to meet other children who are just like them.  In some of our communities, our own children are the only deaf/hard of hearing children in the area.  Parents are helped when they have a chance to talk to each other - linking together to share words of wisdom!