UHNBC tests a first in Canada
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PRINCE GEORGE – In a darkened room at University Hospital of Northern BC, Canadian history has been made. It was the first time diagnostic testing could be done on a cochlear implant via satellite. Lily Palmer has been clinically deaf since infancy and got her first cochlear implant eleven days after her first birthday. It meant dozens, if not more, trips between Prince George and Vancouver to have this kind of testing done.
“Money-saver, time-saver and sanity-saver, frankly,” explains Andrea Palmer, Lily’s mom. “When [Lily] was first implanted, when they first get the technology in, you’re expected to go down every couple of months. And that’s what we did for the first couple of years, post-implant. So in her toddler years, it was tonne of travel.”
The testing truly takes very little time, but the travel was onerous. Now, it’s a short period of time at UHNBC and out. Children’s Hospital has been testing the technology, with Lily’s help, for about a year.
“The one I tested was almost like FaceTime,” says Lily. “It was not as clear or advanced as this one. And the other one was smaller, too.”
