Talk Is Not Cheap

We've had Micah's Voice two weeks today. Can you believe it? It's still so new and fascinating to me. And I'm still humbled and grateful for the wonderful people who made it all possible.

That sounds rather like an acceptance speech, doesn't it? But I'm accepting the generosity, so I guess it's accurate. I have even more praise for Prentke-Romich, but everything in due time. We'll save that for another day.

So many have wondered what Micah would say when he was able to talk. While it's not what I imagined he'd say, I am not shocked. Are you ready for this?

When you give a boy a voice, he'll ask for food.

Yep. Micah uses his new Voice Box to ask for food. Repeatedly. He wants to eat breakfast, he wants a snack, he sees a picture of a cookie and he asks to eat. And don't even get me started on bedtime.

At bedtime, he takes his Voice with him when he remembers. And he asks for his DRINK to be handed to him. He gets creative with this sometimes and will say GET DRINK or MORE DRINK. And you know that my mama-heart swells like a sponge in water. I'm just glad that there is no button that says NOW. And trust me, we won't be adding one.

He's taken things to the next level though. He's started asking for EAT when he's in bed. I'm learning to just say NO, but for Pete's sake, the boy has a Voice and he's using it! What kind of cold-hearted mother would I be if I denied him his first request? There was that one night that we tromped downstairs and got him shredded mozzarella cheese in a bowl. (Hey, it was at his request. You think I'd come up with that all on my own?) Somehow that got down under the covers and was sufficiently dried by the time I went to bed. That was a fun night, let me tell you.

There was also the night that he got graham crackers. I wanted to mess with him that night, so I took them and made him ask for EAT every time he wanted more. He did. I was thrilled. He even did it spontaneously, which was even better. Those crumbs were in Sam's side of the bed. I can be taught.

While this is all super-fantastic in an over-the-top kind of way, I'm still a bit disappointed. I guess I still have that dancing in fields of flowers dream and expect him to use it to actually talk to me. He doesn't say HI when he comes into a room, he doesn't say GOODBYE when he leaves. He doesn't say MCDONALDS CHICKEN NUGGETS when he wants to go out to eat. Of course, maybe he just never wants to go out to eat.

I have to keep reminding myself that he's been speechless for over 5 years. He doesn't realize what a voice really is, and how to use it. I have to tell myself repeatedly that his grasp of understanding the Box and it's myriad of buttons is still amazing in and of itself. Have I mentioned that he's memorized them all? And takes himself to different screens? And knows those buttons, too? He does. It's amazing.

In honor of his second week anniversary with a Voice, I'm going to call back to the Children's Institute and ask them to send the referral to the insurance company. I've gotta get things pushed through because who knows what funding for things like this will be like once January rolls around. It might be better, and it might not. That's a chance that I can't afford to take.