{"id":101837,"date":"2015-10-08T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-08T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/101837\/jordan-gets-his-first-cochlear-implant\/"},"modified":"2015-10-12T11:49:17","modified_gmt":"2015-10-12T09:49:17","slug":"jordan-gets-his-first-cochlear-implant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2015\/10\/08\/jordan-gets-his-first-cochlear-implant\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan gets his first cochlear implant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis has been an exciting and extremely scary time, with our little boy under-going major surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the words of Nicoleen van der Merwe, whose son Jordan (GCN, August 28)<\/a> had his first cochlear implant on September 29.<\/p>

<\/div>\n

Nicoleen and her husband Dwyne went through several emotions; excitement, fear and self-doubt, in the days leading up to the operation.<\/p>\n

\u201cJordan only came out of the recovery room at 1pm, having been in since 7am,\u201d Nicoleen explained.<\/p>

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\u201cHe struggled to wake up and once he had woken up, you could see the pain on his little face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe held him and we were in tears for most of the day wondering if we had done the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/a>
Jordan van der Merwe recovers in hospital after his cochlear implant surgery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adding to Jordan\u2019s parents anxiety was the fact that he was placed on oxygen as he was struggling to breathe on his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe prayed and hoped for the best,\u201d said Nicoleen.<\/p>\n

Jordan slept a lot, which worried his parents as they were unsure if he should be sleeping so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever he woke up, he was in such pain that we had no alternative but to let him sleep,\u201d Nicoleen said sadly.<\/p>\n

\"Jordan<\/a>
Jordan van der Merwe\u2019s mother Nicoleen feeds him after his cochlear implant surgery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within a few days of being home, this little fighter had forgotten all about the pain and slowly returned to the smiley baby the GCN had met in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had no swelling and was recovering well, and was beginning to become very impatient with his bandages,\u201d Nicoleen said.<\/p>\n

After a check-up at the doctor\u2019s office, Jordan\u2019s bandages were removed and the \u201cswitch-on\u201d is planned for October 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t wait for this beautiful moment, as our little boy has never heard our voices in his life and will hear us for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf things couldn\u2019t get any better Jordan reached a milestone by taking a few steps this week,\u201d Nicoleen gushed.<\/p>\n

Nicoleen and Dwyne thank everyone who helped in making this first operation possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of today, with help, we have raised enough money for the first operation which includes two internal devices and one external device,\u201d Nicoleen.<\/p>\n

Their focus has now shifted to raising funds to cover the hospital bills and the purchase of the second external device, which will give Jordan bilateral hearing.<\/p>\n

The family has several fund-raisers <\/a>planned including:<\/p>\n