Gift of Hearing

Sometimes I forget that people don't necessarily know that Troy lost his hearing in his left ear almost 12 years ago. He was working at camp on out trips and got an ear infection which seemed like no big deal. This ear infection was a viral one, something they cant do much for to begin with since antibiotics don't help with viruses.

 This was the summer before we started dating, while we were dating we went to a specialist for ears, nose and throats only to be given little hope of finding anything to help. He also went to a hearing clinic to have his hearing tested in hopes that maybe a hearing aid would help. They told him it would only amplify the sounds he already hears and not help much. Feeling a bit helpless and not sure how to offer comfort in this we realised this would be our normal.

I don't really think about it much now since we adjusted life in little things like letting Troy drive when we are together so he can hear me when I talk to him. I don't think he notices but when people are talking to him he turns his head slightly aiming his good ear toward the people that are talking to him. Big group settings are challenging because he cant tell direction of sound and often doesn't hear people trying to get his attention.

A little while ago Troy mentioned to me he had found an article about someone who had similar hearing loss as he does and that they had found a hearing aid helpful. I was all for having his hearing tested again even if there was a slight possibility they could do something to me it was worth it. Troy is a little harder to convince to go to a DR or anything of the kind so over or Easter/Spring break seemed like the best opportunity. There was no way I would have been able to convince him to drive 2 hours to go.

I am so thankful today for the advances in technology. After testing him they found he could hear close to 50% in his left ear and above average in his right ear. With a plug style hearing aid he should be able to about 75% in his bad ear with a total of 92% hearing from both ears! Such an answer to prayer! Troy is still not sure about the hearing aid, not that he is self conscious of wearing one. The thing he is unsure is the cost it is going to be to our family. We moved here over 5 years ago trusting God to provide for our need and not necessarily our wants. I am trusting that God is going to help us in this area of finances so we can afford this. Since he had to get the custom fit one it is going to cost $1895 for the hearing aid.

 I am thankful that he will be able to hear better no matter what the financial cost.

A Decade of Adventures

       This winter marks a few anniversaries for us. On Boxing Day we celebrated living at Frontier Lodge for 5 years, crazy to think it has been 5 years already I guess time really does fly by when you are having fun! The first day we moved out here I will never forget arriving, unpacking and the discovery of no water....The water house had frozen all the water lines to every building at camp and not a single building at camp had water...Just arriving and having no idea where anything was or how to go about fixing it we were thankful to have one staff member and his family here and they had taken on the task of thawing the water lines. Fast forward to this boxing day we wake up and turn the water on only to find no water. Turns out the water house had frozen again, God has a sense of humor for sure and I couldn't help but smile to myself and say happy anniversary! Thankfully Troy go the water working again that day and we were not without for too long. At least we had heat and could melt snow to flush toilets if it came to that. I have learned a lot of things over the last 5 years and I am thankful for it all. I have been blessed to meet so many amazing people because of living here, I still don't like the good byes but I am thankful for every new friend our family makes.

       Troy is working on another building, it seems we moved here during a big growth spurt at Frontier Lodge. I was happy to see the metal on the roof go on right before we had a week of snow, the guys were happy to not be shoveling the floor off before they started the day. The siding is going up and it is looking more like a house from the outside. On the inside it has a ways to go but the walls are standing and waiting for electrical and plumbing etc. before the fun stuff like drywall and mudding, painting and all the finishing details can happen.

       On January 26th marks our 10 year wedding anniversary! I have been reflecting a lot on the last 10 years and all the blessings they have brought. We have 3 beautiful, fun, adventurous, loving kids. They bring so much joy and lessons to our lives I cant imagine life without them. We had our first fixer upper house and sold it when we moved out to camp. There are still days I miss the little things like a second toilet, my deep soaker bath tub or the amount of counter space in our kitchen. Even though I have moments where I miss those luxuries I wouldn't trade them for where we are now. Along side some of the blessings we had some tough roads too but so thankful I didn't have to walk them on my own this time. I had someone who muddled through life and stood with me. We are both looking forward to a few weeks away this summer to celebrate this mile stone with and adventure together. It is a little amusing to me that we are choosing another isolated place to spend our vacation. Internet is really expensive in the Cook Islands so I promise to post pictures when we return home.

 

I thank God for all the blessings and lessons He has brought us through this past decade. Here is to 10 amazing years together in this crazy thing called life. I look forward to whatever the next 10 bring our way. Thank you to all those who have been with us on our adventures you all hold a special place in our hearts we are so BLESSED to have you in our lives!