If they say no.....

Still obsessing about the implant team's answer. Will they implant her now or will they make us wait until she loses further hearing? I have been researching other clinics to find out what determines candidacy. UF's policy clearly states a child must have a severe-profound loss in *both* ears. Lily's hearing is just slightly better than that. I found that the Listening Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore states this about implant candidacy, which seems less conservative and more flexible than many clinics:

Candidacy

Children and adults with an advanced level of sensorineural hearing loss in both ears may benefit from a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant may be considered for someone with a hearing loss that is severe enough to limit speech understanding, even with well-fit hearing aids. The inability to hear more than one half of amplified words provides a guide that helps define candidacy.

I am finding that geography plays a large role in how progressive implant centers can be. It looks like the implant centers to the east and to the west are more liberal than down here. I am not sure what that means for us yet and what it would take to get this done as soon as possible but I plan to start researching this now in case we have to switch gears very soon.....

-K