Read Online Valentino's Pregnancy Bombshell by Amy Andrews - Free Book Online Page B

your new hearing aid,’ Paige signed.
    Not that it was the type of hearing aid that McKenziewas used to but having worn them most of her life it was the simplest way to explain it to a three-year-old.
    McKenzie kept playing as Valentino fiddled with the external component, fixing it directly over the area where he’d implanted the internal part. It was a small circular unit that consisted of a microphone, a speech processor and a transmitter. It linked magnetically to the internal mechanism, which consisted of a receiver and a stimulator.
    He then retrieved his laptop from his desk, and set it up at a smaller desk directly behind where McKenzie was sitting. He fiddled some more, plugging the external component into the laptop via a long cord.
    â€˜Okay, you know the drill now,’ Valentino said. ‘I’m going to run the neural response telemetry first. It should take about ten minutes. She won’t be able to hear this.’
    Paige nodded. She knew that Valentino would pick a few of the electrodes now implanted into McKenzie’s cochlear to stimulate via the computer. He would get a reading back which told him that the auditory nerves had responded.
    Unlike hearing aids that magnified sound, the cochlear implant directly stimulated the auditory nerves inside the inner ear.
    The minutes seemed like hours as the silence in the room built. The urge to drum her fingers on the table was like an itch and she deliberately tucked her hands in her lap.
    Valentino nodded. ‘ Buon . Good,’ he murmured.‘The nerve is responding perfectly so we know the implant’s working.’
    A rush of adrenaline kicked in at Valentino’s confirmation and Paige gripped the table as she gave him a tight smile. She’d been having nightmares that they’d get to this point only to find the implant was a dud.
    The first hurdle had been surpassed!
    Valentino saw the slight sag to her shoulders and a flicker of relief light her profile, and despite the battle raging inside over professional distance he reached out and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before returning his hand to the keyboard.
    â€˜Okay, I’ll switch it on now. Yes?’
    Paige nodded. This was it. This was the moment. One or two clicks of the mouse and her daughter should be able to hear sound.
    Paige looked so tense Valentino wondered how much longer she could go before she snapped in two. ‘It’s important not to expect miracles,’ he murmured gently. ‘A lot of children don’t react—’
    â€˜I know that,’ Paige interrupted. Just do it!
    â€˜I know.’ He nodded. ‘But I’m going to go through it anyway. It’s different when it’s your own child.’ He waited for her to protest and when she didn’t he continued. ‘McKenzie may not do anything at all once it’s switched on. That’s common. It’s hard to know with little ones what they’re hearing, particularly if they’re pre-verbal or have been deaf all their lives as McKenzie has. They don’t even know what sound is.’
    He stopped and checked that Paige was with himand then continued. ‘I have it on very low so sudden noise doesn’t frighten her, but she could cry. That’s quite a common reaction.’
    Paige nodded again, pleased suddenly that Valentino had taken the time to mentally prepare her for the range of possibilities, even though she knew them back to front. The fantasy in her head was very different from what would probably happen so it was a good reminder.
    â€˜Yep. Okay.’
    â€˜This is just the first step. It’s going to need several mapping sessions as well as intensive speech therapy to train McKenzie’s brain to recognise the sounds she’ll hear as speech and to learn to talk herself.’
    Paige nodded again. ‘I know.’ She was prepared for the long haul.
    â€˜Why don’t you sit opposite her and then we’ll