The Brady Eight: Just Starting Out
A Welcome Aboard Sequel
Chapter 37
A/N—The IMAX movie I cited was released January, 1976. It's my absolute favourite IMAX movie.
The following Monday
Mike and Carol take Carolyn to the audiologist for her first post-surgery checkup.
Nurse: How has she been feeling?
Carol: Holding Carolyn in her lap. She seems to be feeling pretty good.
Nurse: No new health concerns since last Wednesday?
Carol: No. Ryan had a stomach virus, but Carolyn never caught it.
Mike: We tried to keep him separated from his sister.
Nurse: That's good. Takes the baby's temperature and blood pressure and writes the information in her chart. The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.
She leaves the room and the audiologist enters.
Audiologist: How's Carolyn doing?
Carol: She seems to be feeling good.
Audiologist: Any pain?
Mike: She had some Wednesday night, but she didn't seem to have any after that.
Carol: We did continue to give her aspirin until Friday, to keep the pain away. She seemed her usual happy self from Thursday on.
Audiologist: Good! Reads her chart. Everything looks good. Let's look in her ears.
Carol places Carolyn on the examination table and the audiologist carefully takes the packing out of the baby's ears.
Audiologist: Looks good! No swelling. Redness seems to be decreasing.
Mike: Is it soon enough to do a hearing test?
Audiologist: We can do one now, if you'd like.
Carol: Yes, please.
The audiologist conducts a hearing test on Carolyn, and soon, returns with the results. He places Carolyn in her mother's lap before continuing.
Audiologist: There seems to be some significant improvement.
Carol's eyes mist as she smiles. Mike takes her hand.
Mike: How much?
Audiologist: She seems to have eighty-five percent loss in her right ear...
Carol: That was the one that was ninety percent?
Audiologist: Yes.
Mike: And her left?
Audiologist: No real change yet. Still around eighty percent loss.
Carol sighs.
Audiologist: Encouraging. This is still good news. It's only been a week. We should see signs of continuing improvement over the next couple months or so. Let's schedule another appointment and test for a month from now and we'll see how things go from there. In the meantime, continue what you've been doing: talking and signing to her, and encouraging her to speak and sign.
Carol: We're still doing early intervention.
Audiologist: Good! I'll see her in a month and we'll go from there.
Mike: Thank you.
The audiologist leaves and Mike and Carol go to the front to schedule the follow up appointment and pay.
Receptionist: We can get Carolyn in Monday, March 8 at nine o'clock.
Mike: Thank you.
Mike and Carol return to the car. Carol buckles Carolyn into her carseat, and then the couple embraces. Tears stream down Carol's cheeks.
Carol: Smiles. Mike, the surgery worked! My baby's improving.
Mike: Kisses the top of her head. Yes.
Carol: Swallows. I know she's got a long way to go and won't be able to hear completely, but this is big!
Mike: This is an answer to prayer.
Carol: It is.
At the Brady house
Mike drops Carol and Carolyn off at home and goes to the office. Carol enters the house through the family room. Alice is sitting on the floor, playing with Ryan. She looks up and sees Carol, smiling w/ Carolyn in her arms.
Alice: How was Carolyn's appointment?
Carol: Beaming. It went great. To Carolyn. Didn't it, Kitten?
Alice: Wonderful!
Carol and Carolyn join Alice and Ryan on the floor.
Carol: Yes. She's got a five percent improvement in one ear, which the audiologist said was really good for being one week out from surgery.
Alice: What good news!
Ryan walks over and sits in his mother's lap.
Carol: Kisses her son's head. Hello, Ry! Have you had fun playing with Alice?
Ryan: Points at Alice. Awice! Awice!
Carol: Yes, Alice. When did he start saying your name?
Alice: This morning. We were playing ball and he started saying my name.
Ryan: Giggles and walks back to Alice. Awice! Ba! Ba!
Alice: You want your ball?
Ryan: Ba!
Carolyn stands up and joins Alice and her brother.
Alice: Grabs the ball. Here's the ball!
Carolyn: Signs: Ball.
Carol: Realizes what her daughter's doing. Alice! She signed "ball!"
Alice: To the twins, speaking and signing. Want the ball?
Ryan: Ba!
Carolyn: Signs: Ball.
Carol: Hugs Carolyn. My baby! She said "ball!"
Carolyn protests and pushes away.
Carol: Puts her down. I'm sorry, sweetheart.
After a few minutes of playing with the twins, Alice starts a load of laundry and Carol decides to call Mike.
Mike: Answering the phone. This is Michael Brady.
Carol: Excited. Mike! I've got great news!
Mike: Curious. What's the good news?
Carol: Carolyn just signed the word "ball."
Mike: Excited. Well! Isn't that something?!
Carol: Alice and I were playing with the twins. Ryan asked Alice for the ball. Oh, and he said "Alice" today too!
Mike: Atta boy!
Carol: Laughs. Yes! And Alice asked him if he wanted the ball, and Carolyn signed "ball!"
Mike: Proud. Her first word!
Carol: A tear escapes her eye. Our baby's learning to sign.
Mike: And she'll quickly learn more.
Carol: Yes.
Mike: I think we should have one of our "Sign language only" dinners tonight in celebration.
Carol: Sounds good to me. Smiles. What a day!
They wrap up their conversation and hang up.
At dinner
Mike and Carol update the older kids on Carolyn's appointment this morning and signing her first word.
Mike: And, in celebration of the good news today, we will be having a sign language only dinner tonight.
Bobby: Aww, do we have to?
Mike: Yes.
Bobby: What if we can't think of the sign or get it wrong?
Mike: That's the whole point of the dinner. We need to practice.
Bobby: But I practice in class.
Mike: I know, but although we hope Carolyn will be able to hear, we have to prepare ourselves that she'll have to rely on sign language to communicate.
Carol: And if we don't practice, we can't help her learn to sign.
Cindy: I like signing.
Mike: Corrects. Sign it.
Cindy: Signs. I like signing.
Bobby: Signs. Oh, all right.
Mike: Speaks and signs. From here on out, all conversation will be signing.
Ryan: Yells. Daaaaadeeeeee!
The family laughs.
Mike: Chuckles, speaks and signs. Ryan's the exception.
[from here on out, all conversation is via signing.]
Cindy: I made an A on my algebra quiz.
Carol: That's great!
Cindy: It was easy.
Bobby: Frowns. I made a C on my biology test.
Mike: Did you do your best?
Bobby: Yes. Mr. Price is a stir driving.
Peter: Confused. A what?
Bobby: You know, S-L-A-V-E D-R-I-V-E-R.
Peter: Understanding. Oh! Yeah, he is.
Cindy: Just don't write a newspaper article about him.
Peter: Blushing. Oh, ha ha!
Cindy: Changing the subject. Mom, are you and dad coming to homework?
Carol: Confused. You mean H-O-M-E-C-O-M-I-N-G?
Cindy: Giggles. Yes.
Carol: Yes. We are.
Ryan: Thinking it's too quiet. AAAAAAAHHHHHH! Bangs his plate.
Carol: Speaks and Signs: Ryan, no.
Mike: To Carolyn. Want more carrots?
Carolyn: Signs. More!
Mike: Gives her more. Here you go. More carrots.
Carolyn: More!
Cindy: The squad's been working on a new routine.
Jan: Harder than for football homecoming?
Cindy: No. Since we've got a competition coming up, I wanted something clean and basic. It's still a good routine.
Carol: A simple routine that's done well is better than a hard one done sloppily.
Cindy: That's what I was thinking.
Jan: Beth and I want to go to the movies tomorrow night.
Carol: I don't know. It's a school night.
Jan: "To Fly" is playing at the I-M-A-X and it's only this week.
Mike: What about Friday?
Jan: They're playing something else then.
Carol: Mike, what do you think?
Mike: Mulls it over. Why not? Those aren't very long movies. Okay, you can go.
Jan: Thanks!
Peter: Julie and I are going too. Why don't you see if Billy wants to go?
Jan: I could. Thinks. I think Beth's dating Chad Davis.
Peter: If they go, let's make it a threesome. Pained. Oh, that did NOT come out right.
Jan blushes while Bobby and Cindy try not to laugh. Fortunately, Mike and Carol were busy with the twins and didn't see the exchange.
Jan: I hope that's not what you meant.
Peter: I meant a T-R-I-P-L-E D-A-T-E.
Jan: Sighs with relief. That's what I thought. Pauses. And to answer your suggestion, I'll ask them. It would be fun!
Peter: We could go eat at Pete's Pizza beforehand.
That evening
Mike and Carol put the twins to bed and get ready to retire for the evening. Carol is changing in the master bedroom and Mike's brushing his teeth.
Carol: What a day!
Mike: Spitting out toothpaste. It sure was.
Carol: Both our babies are talking now.
Mike: Cheeky. Does it bother you that Carolyn's first sign wasn't "Mama"?
He walks out of the bathroom and turns off the bathroom light. Carol kisses him on the cheek.
Carol: Not at all. I'm just glad she's signing now.
Mike: Gives her a quick peck on the lips. Me too.
Carol: Becomes serious. When she was first diagnosed as legally deaf, I felt my world crashing down around me.
Mike: And now?
Carol: Now, I see hope for her. I hope her hearing continues to improve, but even if it doesn't, I'm encouraged now that she's learning to sign.
Mike: It's good to hear you say that.
Carol: Smiles. She'll be able to communicate with us and us with her. And she'll have Ryan to help her too.
Mike: Yes.
Carol: Yawns. It's been a long day.
Carol turns off her bedside lamp and gets in bed. Mike turns off the overhead light, gets in bed and turns off his bedside lamp.
Mike: Sounds like Alice was over the moon that Ryan learned to say her name.
Carol: Oh, she was!
Mike: She was excited when Bobby said her name for the first time.
Carol: I'm excited to hear and see what their next words will be.
Mike: They'll be talking and signing up a storm before we know it.
Carol: Yawns. I'm beat. Good night!
Mike gives her a quick peck.
Mike: Goodnight.
They fall asleep immediately.
-End of Chapter 37-