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Dear Mika,
I can’t believe it has been six years already since Penny came into our lives. Time has flown by. Penny has grown so much. She is a precocious and athletically inclined child. The other day she nearly beat Thomas in a foot race! I feel like if we projected her brain onto a screen, all we would see is the word go.
A month ago, she gave us a little scare. Penny stopped responding when we called her name. The pediatrician referred us to an audiologist. We spent an entire afternoon at the children’s hospital. They ran a battery of tests, placing big headphones on her ears and instructing her to press buttons when she heard certain sounds. Then we waited in a small room for the results. We were so nervous. Thomas wouldn’t stop bouncing his knee and kept going on about flying Penny to California. He was looking up specialists on his phone when the audiologist came in. “All of Penny’s tests checked out. It seems your daughter has selective hearing,” he said, emphasis on selective.
In the parking lot, we pasted on our most serious expressions and had a conversation with Penny about the importance of paying attention and what a big deal this was. All the testing could have been avoided, we explained. In the car, Thomas started laughing, and so did I. We couldn’t stop. One thing is certain, our lives will never be boring with Penny in them. As always, pictures are attached. Including a self-portrait Penny created with mustard and a couple pieces of bread.
Big hugs,
Caroline