There are some seriously cool playgrounds around here:
Amelia enjoying the bus ride:
Found some delicious gelato in the city center:
Tomorrow morning we are planning on checking out the farmer's market down the street.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Our last week in Italy
It's hard to believe we have been in Italy almost 6 weeks already! This last week we have spent relaxing and exploring Verona (well....DJ has been doing a lot of school work and maybe not as much relaxing as Amelia and I). On Monday Amelia's ABI will be activated and if all goes well, we will be leaving Verona on Tuesday afternoon. And giving Siena a big bear hug on Thursday :).
Tomorrow morning we are planning on checking out the farmer's market down the street.
Tomorrow morning we are planning on checking out the farmer's market down the street.
Monday, March 5, 2012
One day at a time
We were able to go to the Dolomites in Northern Italy for a few days (in between hospital visits). We stayed in Castelrotto (or Kastelruth) in a beautiful hotel with amazing views all around.
One day we took a cable car to Alpe di Siusi. It is a vast alpine meadow with all different types of recreational activities available - skiing (downhill and cross-country), snowboarding and lots of hiking esp in the spring and summer. The weather was unseasonably warm while we were there but they were expecting more snow in a few days.
The Dolomites are very close to the Austrian border so most everyone there spoke Italian, German and English but German seemed to be the favored language. All of the names of places and menu items were written in both German and Italian. It didn't even feel like we were in Italy anymore. The architecture was completely different and we were able to get different types of food such as tyrolean dumplings (yummy!), sausages, strudels and delicious breads. It was a well-needed mini-vacation for us and we felt rested and rejuvinated when we returned to our apartment in Italy.
- fun swing near our apartment-
Today Amelia had her stitches removed :). The incision is healing nicely. We were hoping the bandage would be removed permanently but the doctors put a new one on again. It will be removed Thurs so we can deal with it for a few more days. Her skin is getting very irritated from the tape being put on and removed so many times (it is very sticky!) but hopefully her skin will recover quickly.
Her activation day is now scheduled for Mon the 12th. We are leaving for Milan on the 13th and flying home early on the 14th so hopefully it all works out. We are anxious to get home and see our family and friends (esp Siena - we miss her so much!).
One day we took a cable car to Alpe di Siusi. It is a vast alpine meadow with all different types of recreational activities available - skiing (downhill and cross-country), snowboarding and lots of hiking esp in the spring and summer. The weather was unseasonably warm while we were there but they were expecting more snow in a few days.
The Dolomites are very close to the Austrian border so most everyone there spoke Italian, German and English but German seemed to be the favored language. All of the names of places and menu items were written in both German and Italian. It didn't even feel like we were in Italy anymore. The architecture was completely different and we were able to get different types of food such as tyrolean dumplings (yummy!), sausages, strudels and delicious breads. It was a well-needed mini-vacation for us and we felt rested and rejuvinated when we returned to our apartment in Italy.
Today Amelia had her stitches removed :). The incision is healing nicely. We were hoping the bandage would be removed permanently but the doctors put a new one on again. It will be removed Thurs so we can deal with it for a few more days. Her skin is getting very irritated from the tape being put on and removed so many times (it is very sticky!) but hopefully her skin will recover quickly.
Her activation day is now scheduled for Mon the 12th. We are leaving for Milan on the 13th and flying home early on the 14th so hopefully it all works out. We are anxious to get home and see our family and friends (esp Siena - we miss her so much!).
Sunday, February 26, 2012
ah, allora.........
On Friday DJ and I tried to find a toy store in a different area of town. DJ did a great job navigating the bus system and getting us to the address listed online but unfortunately the address must have been wrong because there was no toy store to be found. We walked around the middle of nowhere for awhile but eventually gave up and took the bus back to our apartment. Ah, allora.... We went to the little tobacco shop just below our apartment and bought a deck of cards for ~$10 which seemed kind of expensive but Amelia has been enjoying them so it was money well spent. To be honest, her favorite "toys" are still her burp cloth and our belts :).
A cool thing happened on the bus though. A young girl (~15?) noticed Amelia and I signing and started to ask us about it in Italian. It turns out that she is also deaf. She showed us her hearing aid in one of her ears and explained that her mom was also deaf and they used sign language in their home. She was fluent in Italian, English and Sign....impressive :). We only had a chance to talk for a few minutes before she got off of the bus. We told her we were here from CA for a special surgery to help Amelia to hear. She thought that was very cool and we were all happy to make a new connection :).
Last night we set off for another adventure. This time we were trying to find the Birreria (beer hall) that DJ found online. It was only a short walk from our apartment but we had to find streets with sidewalks. We tried to cut through the hospital but it didn't work (unless we wanted to scale an 10' stone wall). DJ was determined though and we did eventually make our way there - without having to climb any walls :)
Everyone got what they were looking for:
It was a fun place and I'm sure we will be back there again before we leave :).
A cool thing happened on the bus though. A young girl (~15?) noticed Amelia and I signing and started to ask us about it in Italian. It turns out that she is also deaf. She showed us her hearing aid in one of her ears and explained that her mom was also deaf and they used sign language in their home. She was fluent in Italian, English and Sign....impressive :). We only had a chance to talk for a few minutes before she got off of the bus. We told her we were here from CA for a special surgery to help Amelia to hear. She thought that was very cool and we were all happy to make a new connection :).
Last night we set off for another adventure. This time we were trying to find the Birreria (beer hall) that DJ found online. It was only a short walk from our apartment but we had to find streets with sidewalks. We tried to cut through the hospital but it didn't work (unless we wanted to scale an 10' stone wall). DJ was determined though and we did eventually make our way there - without having to climb any walls :)
Everyone got what they were looking for:
It was a fun place and I'm sure we will be back there again before we leave :).
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Enjoying our time our time out of the hospital
Late afternoon last Friday Amelia was released from the hospital....yea! We have to go back daily for her antibiotic injection. On Monday they changed her bandage again and her surgery site is healing well. That is the first time DJ saw the sutures and he thought it was gruesome. The wound is actually 6-8" long and runs from above her ear down to her neck. She tries to itch at the bandage sometimes but usually leaves it alone (besides smearing pasta sauce and chocolate all over it :) )
We are enjoying being together in our apartment and are thankful to have a kitchen to cook our own meals in. Last night we were a little homesick so we made cheeseburgers but usually it's pasta and pizza...yummy!
On Saturday we finally made it to the city center. It is very beautiful with lots of Roman ruins all around. It was very crowded....much different than the area we are staying in. We are going again this afternoon for a picnic lunch and to take a closer look at some of the sites. It is supposed to be sunny the rest of the week and may even warm up to 60 by the end of the week.
We received some great news the other day. House Ear Institute in LA was able to get approval from the FDA to work with Amelia's ABI. They had to apply for compassionate use of the MedEl device since it isn't approved at all in the US. This means we will be able to get all of her mapping (sound adjustments) done in LA instead of having to fly back here. A representative from MedEl Europe will fly to LA to get everything set up. What a relief! We appreciate all of the hard work everyone has put in to make this happen :).
We are enjoying being together in our apartment and are thankful to have a kitchen to cook our own meals in. Last night we were a little homesick so we made cheeseburgers but usually it's pasta and pizza...yummy!
On Saturday we finally made it to the city center. It is very beautiful with lots of Roman ruins all around. It was very crowded....much different than the area we are staying in. We are going again this afternoon for a picnic lunch and to take a closer look at some of the sites. It is supposed to be sunny the rest of the week and may even warm up to 60 by the end of the week.
We received some great news the other day. House Ear Institute in LA was able to get approval from the FDA to work with Amelia's ABI. They had to apply for compassionate use of the MedEl device since it isn't approved at all in the US. This means we will be able to get all of her mapping (sound adjustments) done in LA instead of having to fly back here. A representative from MedEl Europe will fly to LA to get everything set up. What a relief! We appreciate all of the hard work everyone has put in to make this happen :).
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