Zeke's Favorite Fish

Quite a bit has happened in the last few weeks, although it’s been almost entirely family related as opposed to Zeke-related. We did have a routine doctor’s appointment earlier this week and the news was great – Zeke is growing well and is very healthy, including his head circumference. That’s an important metric to follow over the next few years, since dramatic brain damage will cause the brain to grow at a slower rate than normal; so if his head circumference is keeping pace with the rest of his growth, it’s a really good sign.

He’s doing very well with his hearing aids – they’re fitting better since we got his new inserts (he grows out of them at an astonishing rate right now) and he really lights up when he has them in. We had a long meeting with the local state program coordinator for deaf children – up until age three there is a fantastic early-development program to help us integrate and get involved with the Deaf community. We’re finding out that there is a big difference between being deaf and being Deaf; the latter signifies an incredibly tight knit community, encompassing the hearing losses of most ranges all the way up to profoundly deaf. Zeke falls solidly in this group, and we’re really excited to start getting involved (once we make it through the winter).
Our pediatrician reinforced his earlier contact mandate, and we’re finding a rhythm having spend a full month now in relative isolation. So far so good, although we’ve begun making “heeeere’s Johnny” jokes as the first snow of winter begins to fall. We’ll either come out the other end this spring a very close family or our classical nuclear family will become just that – nuclear.

We’ve also found a groove in our daily lives after the chaos of resigning from my “real” job to try and make our business fly. It’s been a little crazy and we’re defiantly not out of the woods (or really near the edge of the woods, for that matter) but we’re having a blast and it’s been incredibly refreshing to take a risk that we’ve chosen, rather than the long summer of things happening to us. We’ve got time before failure would force me back into a corporate job, but we’re doing everything we can to succeed on our own. You’ll probably see some of our ventures linked from here over the next few months, but since this is predominantly about Zeke, we’ll do our best to keep it that way.

Thanks to everyone for the continued support! We’d never have guessed 6 months ago where we’d be today, but God is faithful and he hasn’t failed us yet.

The best baby sign language videos!
As you all know, we’re beginning to sort out the future with Baby Zeke and his health, but in particular at the moment (since it’s all we know for sure), his hearing impairment.  Despite the fact that his hearing can be improved with hearing aids, we’re still solidly in the deaf and hearing impaired community.  As such, we’ve begun the process of learning sign language!

We’ve had tremendous success with a series of videos produced by the Coleman family, pictured to the left.  We discovered their story only after we began using their videos – it resonates with our experience very well as their business grew out of a need to respond to the birth of their deaf daughter.  Things then accellerated with the birth of their second daughter, which you can read all about in the “about us” section of their website.

Their compelling story aside, the product that they have produced has been fantastic for our kids.  Zeke is obviously too young to begin signing yet, but the other three kids have been fascinated and enraptured with these videos.  I have been amazed to watch their signing vocabulary grow over even just the last two weeks as the signing begins to sink in.  Even Jed at two years old jumps up and down and screams when it’s time for Baby Signing Time; he’s using signs almost as much as he’s using the spoken word.

The most exciting thing is that as Zeke grows and hopefully begins to comprehend communication, our other children are poised and ready to teach him their new language.  It’s also becoming a regular part of their lives and won’t be a new change or adaptation when Zeke gets older – their signing skills are already in place!

I want to also be clear on the benefits of signing in young children even absent any hearing or speech impediments.  It has dramatically cut down in the frustrations that Jed (at 2 yrs) experiences in his  efforts to be understood.  He regularly comes upstairs and signs “hungry” or “thirsty” to Jesi.

We’d really encourage everyone with young children, hearing or otherwise, to check out these videos… They’re having a big impact on our daily lives and we’re excited to keep learning with the kids as they grow!

This is an open letter to our friends and family… if you’re reading this blog, you qualify!

Family and Friends;

As you are all no doubt aware, this has been something of a crazy year for us.  The events surrounding the birth of our fourth child, Zeke, have made us question almost every aspect of our lives over the last three months.  If you’re not familiar with Zeke’s story you can read all about it, starting from the bottom,  at:

http://thebabyzeke.com

We questioned our purpose, the direction of our lives, even what tomorrow would bring us.  Some of those questions were made more urgent last month when a reassignment at work meant more hours for less pay.  Critical Response LTD and it’s website, CriticalResponseFirstAid.com are the realization of months of soul searching, purpose seeking and life redefining.

A little bit about the purpose – the medical experiences we’ve had with Zeke have opened our eyes to a lifestyle we’d previously ignored as young, healthy people.   We’ve come to appreciate how delicate life is and how many things can go wrong in the blink of an eye.  We’re still working on entirely rejecting the fear and living boldly, but we’re appreciating that part of living life to the fullest means being equipped to respond to the emergencies that we all will inevitably face.  If you’d like to see numbers, feel free to visit the American Heart Association’s website; Cardiac Arrest is 90% – 95% fatal.  Utilization of an AED in under four minutes drops that mortality rate to just under 50%.  Since Cardiac Arrest can happen to any one, regardless of age or heath, you can begin to appreciate why we are sharing the goal of the AHA – to make AEDs as common as fire extinguishers in public places.

A bit about the business – first off, I am not asking you to buy anything.  Most of you do not have any requirement for an AED in your house or the type of first aid products that we offer.  Without some extenuating circumstances (such as we have in our house with Zeke) our kits are above and beyond what the average family needs to be safe.  But each and every one of you has influence in a highly populated place – each of you goes to college, has children in school, goes to church, works in an office building, knows the jobsite safety coordinator, works with foster children, owns your own business…  The placement of AEDs is quickly becoming commonplace in these environments – speak up and let the people you love know about the resource that our company provides.

Also, you may wonder if, given the economy, this is the best time to start a business.  As we weighed the path before us, we eventually realized that not only should we start this company, but this was the best time imaginable for us to start it.  We’ve found a cause that we can get behind – not only financially, but morally and spiritually as well.  We firmly believe that while the events of the last six months each carry their own significance, their sum has brought us to a purpose – a purpose for our entire family.

I’ve touched briefly on what we’re asking from you – nothing more than spread the word.  Be our fans; forward this to your friends that I don’t know.  Tell your family about us.  Watch for our updates and keep supporting us emotionally; we’ve discovered the depth of our friendships with all of you through the last few months – we’re still going to need it!  Thanks again for everything and tell everyone about us!  In case you are interested, here’s a discount code for 10% off; feel free to give it to anyone you think will use it!  Just plug it in at checkout – Friends10

Thanks again and God bless you all!

-Dave & Jesi

http://CriticalResponseFirstAid.com