For those that do not know Cormac's name is pronounced "Cormick". Very easy to say it incorrectly due to the spelling.
Cormac was born at 31 weeks and 5 days. He was third born of the triplets or Baby C. When he came out he looked so much different than Ciaran or Colin. He had no hair at all. He was a big boy at 4lbs 1oz. He spent 21 days in the hospital after birth as a "feeder and grower". On the 21st day we were told he was "referred" due to his hearing screening. We were assured he would be fine and "99% of kids referred had NOTHING wrong with them". Welcome, to the 1%, Cormac. We followed up in 4 weeks as instructed and were told we should come back again since his age was still -4 weeks old. He was still not even supposed to be born. We followed up again at "0" Still nothing.
In the end, after 3 sedated ABR's and several OAE's it was confirmed he had "profound bilateral sensioneural hearing loss". For those that don't know what this means...he is deaf. Profoundly deaf. It's misleading in my opinion to call it "hearing loss". Cormac couldn't hear a jet engine if he was standing next to it.
He was given hearing aids and received no benefit whatsoever. He had to have them for at least 6 months due to insurance protocol. Then at just 13 months he received simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants from Advanced Bionics. It was by far the single best decision I have made in my life. I truly believe we gave Cormac the very best opportunity to be all he could be.
He has been a rock star with his implants. He closed the language gap quicker than anyone expected. He worked hard. Our family worked hard. Our lives were and are dedicated to Cormac's success. He is blessed to have two of the best language models living in his house. I cannot tell you how wonderful Ciaran and Colin have been for his language skills.
I am not saying it was a walk in the park but Cormac made it easy on us. He is an unbelievable implant user. He doesn't miss a trick. It was lots of hard work and basically a life style we adopted. He has always been so cooperative with testing and therapy. He loves therapy with his Teacher of the Deaf.
By 3 years old when he aged out of early intervention Cormac was able to attend mainstream preschool with his brothers. His only accommodation is an FM system. He continues to amaze us, inspire us, shock us and just blow us away. He is as smart as a whip. He knows things a typical child his age would never know. He craves knowledge. He loves books. He is the first kid to volunteer in the class. He is a natural born leader. At school the refer to him as "the mayor".
He loves to talk. He loves music. He loves to dance. He loves life. Truly loves life.
I started this blog when I had triplets and it morphed into our life with triplets and our journey to hearing with Cormac. It's a journey no one would choose if given a choice. No one wants their child's life to be any more difficult than it has to be. But it is a journey I wouldn't trade. I have met so many wonderful people along the way. I have met so many inspiring people. I have met parents who fight the fight for their kids. I have Cormac to thank for all these wonderful people in my life.
And I will say this...Cormac would never change a thing about his life.... And how do I know this? Because not only has he told me this but the smile on his face and his love for life tell me it every day.
