Seth's good ears test

Seth has had his hearing checked every few months for most of his life. He barely passed the newborn hearing screening, and he barely skates by on the hearing tests with his audiologist. He wore hearing aids for awhile last year, but he kept taking them out and throwing them across the room. The audiologist suggested that Seth have a sedated study that tests the part of the ear and brain that translates sound. Wednesday was the day.

I had planned on waking Seth up at 6:25 a.m. so that we could leave at 6:30, but he decided to wake up on his own at 6 a.m.

"Bink, Mom."
"I'm sorry, Seth. I can't give you a drink until after the test."
"NO SORRY!!! BINK!!!"

He forgot about needing a drink when we got to the hospital. He charmed the information desk receptionist, telling her all about his green Buddy Walk shirt. Then we got to go to the pediatric unit where Seth got his own bed. I didn't take a camera, so I took a couple pictures with my phone.
That's Scooby Doo in the bed with him :-) We also brought a Scooby Doo dvd for entertainment (aka -- distraction).

The nurse put numbing cream on both of Seth's wrists and gave him a "drink" of Versed (sleepy medicine) to get him ready for an i.v. The first try at putting in the i.v. didn't work, but the nurse kept trying and trying. Seth only said "ow" once, then just laid there, still and quiet. The second try at putting in the i.v. was much faster and worked. The nurse started the sedation meds, and soon Seth was unable to speak clearly (which made me laugh because he doesn't talk very clearly to begin with).

The test takes a couple hours, so the audiologist, the nurse, and I sat there chatting while they monitored the machines. When the test was finished, the audiologist told me that there is nothing wrong with Seth's ears or the part of the brain that receives sound. In other words, Seth does not need hearing aids. This also means that Seth probably just hasn't felt like cooperating with all the hearing tests he goes through when he's awake. Or maybe he takes longer to respond even though he hears fine. His brain just needs some time to process the sounds that he hears. Probably a combination of both of those theories.

Seth woke up after another hour or so, sweet as can be. He was unbelievably brave and tough. The nurse said that he was a perfect patient!

This is how I found Luke and Seth this evening, watching netflix in Luke's bed:

Such sweet boys!!