Our Stories

Parker

Many of you might remember Parker from the AB250 DVD-Video “In Celebration of Newborn Hearing Screening.” Parker was the little four-month-old baby, with the BIG SMILE, receiving his hearing aids.

This is Parker today… after having his Cochlear Implant activated. Still with a “BIG SMILE”,
listening, hearing and discovering a brand new world.

Read more from his mom, Missy, below.

Hello all! Thank you for the prayers...the activation of Parker's cochlear implant went very well. It took much longer than I expected (about two hours). Most of the time was spent holding Parker on my lap while the Audiologist's computer "spoke" to the implant in Parker's head and the two of them decided on the best settings for Parker. It seems to have worked out because Parker can most certainly "hear". His hearing world right now is mostly a series of clicks, beeps and other sounds that wouldn't make much sense to most of us (or Parker) but in time Parker's brain will begin to understand it as sound and language.

There was a moment of, I hate to say disappointment, but that is really what it was - when Parker's implant was first activated. In my emotional motherly mind, I had always viewed that moment as happening like this: they turn on the implant, Parker hears my voice, he turns to me and there is a big smile on his face full of love and adoration as he instantly recognizes the sound of his mother's voice. The reality of it was my voice to Parker was no different than the sound of a jackhammer.

I had totally forgotten that he didn't have those nine months in the womb of listening to my voice and becoming attached to me as his Mommy. However, there is a flip side. Parker hugged me for the first time! I hadn't realized but before his activation day, I had never received a hug back from Parker.

It is so sweet now when he cuddles up to me. I don't know the reason why, but it is just one of those things that doesn't need one. - Missy

Thank you for sharing this story with us, Missy. We look forward to watching Parker journey on and the many discoveries he and you will make.

UPDATE: Parker celebrated his first birthday yesterday with much enthusiasm. I'm still shocked and amazed that he is here on this planet and I was chosen to be his Mom. He took his first step on Thanksgiving and is now walking. He is still quite wobbly and will take 5 or 6 steps and then plop down and crawl the remaining way to his destination. He is also babbling up a storm. My father watched him the other day and after about an hour said, "he never stops talking, does he?". I laughed. His statement made me realize how fortunate we are to have the technology to help Parker hear and develop speech. As always, I'll make sure to keep everyone posted as new events arise!

Peaches

My children's hearing loss is genetic on their paternal side of the family. Since they've been diagnosed and fitted with aides their leraning and speech skills have improved drastically. At first it was hard for me to come to the realization that they were hard of hearing. But I immediately stepped up and made sure to get them the necessary tools and education sot aht they could succeed. My oldest child suffers a greater loss and still struglles with concept. But I'm determined to teach her not to give up and that by working harder she can do it! They also are my inspiration and role models. Whenever I have a hard time, I think about why it is that I struggle. Juggling single motherhood, work and college can be overwhelming. But it's for them that I continue to do it. I plan to find any and all support that I can in order for us to succeed as a family within the Deaf/HH community. I plan to use my skills from college (LVC Court Reporting) to help the deaf and HH community as well!

Email Peaches at Delf9104@aol.com

Kailey and Matthew

story coming soon

Ashton

Ashton, son of Douglas and Kam is a bilateral cochlear implant user and has been for well over a year now. He has used his first implant for 4 years. At the age of 3, he fell ill from meningitis and we nearly lost him to it. After several days of antibiotic treatment we found out that he was now deaf in both ears. Then two blessings happened for us. One, Ashton was well again and he was still with us. Two, there was still hope for our baby to hear once again which that news was a miracle all on its own but we had no idea how big of a miracle it really was or the amazing journey we were about to take. He received his first cochlear implant 2 months after he had lost his hearing and what a blessing it was to have him done so soon after his hearing loss. In just those two short months of hearing loss, Ashton’s speech declined at an amazing rate and he just about stopped talking all together. I can’t begin to tell you what pure joy it was to see him respond once again to our voices. His first words after receiving his implant was "I love you mommy". It is a true miracle and a memory I will never forget or quit sharing with others. After having his implant for nearly 2 years they finally approved bilateral implantation. We then decided to implant his other ear soon after. Ashton has been a bilateral cochlear implant user for well over a year now and it was been a joy to see how much he has improved his speech and understanding of the world around him. He was number 14 to be implanted with a second implant in the state of Texas and it is a joy to us to see so many others trying to get a second implant as well because it really does make a difference for their world. Ashton is now 7 years old and in the 1st grade at Paradise here in Las Vegas and he is always thrilled to see another child his age with "ears like his". Ashton is an energetic and loving child who loves to draw and play with his friends. He has also become the video game king of the family. Now if only we could get him to stop talking for just two seconds so that we could get a word in once in awhile! *lol*
Email mom at Kandykamela@yahoo.com

Evan

Evan was possibly born deaf (there was no newborn hearing screening, and we did not find out about his hearing loss until 9 months of age), and has a bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss. He received hearing aids at age 1, and a cochlear implant at nearly age 3. He attends his neighborhood school in a regular third grade class with some support. He loves the Red Sox and playing soccer. In November of 2006, Evan received another cochlear implant. Now he has two and hears in stereo just like you and me. Come see our family at http://lauranthezoo.typepad.com/.

Alex

story coming soon

Aspen

Aspen was born on February 5, 2000. At that time there was no newborn hearing screening so her hearing loss was not detected until she was seven months old. She has a bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss. As parents, Steve and I felt the responsibility to give our daughter the best of both worlds, but first we wanted to make sure that we had all of the facts. After studying many research articles that discussed the oral option and the effects that cochlear implants were having on language acquisition and academic performance in children and talking to other oral deaf families and meeting many high school and college oral deaf students who graduated with honors, we decided that we would give Aspen the opportunity to hear with a cochlear implant.

Steve and I took this decision very seriously and were committed to the aggressive audiological management of the cochlear implant as well as intense speech therapy from an Auditory Verbal therapist multiple times a week. At 18 months of age Aspen received her first cochlear implant and began the exciting journey of learning to listen and talk. Steve and I will never forget that first year that she had her cochlear implant. There were so many exciting firsts; hearing the telephone ring, a bird chirping, a dog barking, a microwave beeping, even a marble rolling across the floor. It still amazes us that our seven-year-old profoundly deaf child can understand and participate in a whispered conversation, respond to us from two rooms away, successfully take a phone message, and read and write on grade level.

Last summer we attended the national AG Bell conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There were several classes that we attended. Among the most profound were the sessions sharing research on the performance of children with bilateral cochlear implants. Once again, as parents, we felt responsible to research the pros and cons of bilateral implants. Needless to say, after consulting our surgeon Dr. Ng in Las Vegas, as well as several Auditory Verbal therapists and audiologists across the nation we decided to go ahead and have her receive a second “ear” in September of 2006. The picture that is accompanying this bio was taken 30 minutes after she received her second cochlear implant. The ironic thing about the picture is that she is wearing her first cochlear implant and was able to talk, listen and articulately tell us how she was feeling immediately following her surgery.

Giving Aspen a second ear to hear out of has been one of the best things we have ever done. We had her new ear tested in an audio booth just five months after surgery and were astonished to learn that she was hearing at 25dB across all speech frequencies. Since receiving her second cochlear implant our family as well as her teachers at school have seen some amazing improvements in her ability to hear and localize voices in crowded settings as well as an improvement in her ability to discriminate closely related words (shoe vs. shoes). This has helped with her ability to learn phonemic awareness, which obviously has improved her reading skills. Since her bilateral cochlear implant we rarely here “what did you say?” because her unaided ear was not facing the speaker. Aspen has been a great reporter of the effectiveness of the bilateral cochlear implant. When asked what the difference is between one and two ears her response every time is, “I don’t know mom, it’s just more better! I hear more things.” She prefers to wear both Cochlear Implants as opposed to one.
It has been five years and nine months since we discovered that our Aspen was profoundly deaf. Reflecting back on our journey thus far Steve and I remember the fear of the unknown, the tears we shed, the joy we felt, and even the frustrations we had. The most profound emotions that never wavered through it all and never will is our love, acceptance and pride we have for Aspen. We have a long way to go before our journey of discoveries slows down with Aspen. We are honored to be a parent of a profoundly deaf child who is confident, athletic, studious, caring, and outgoing. There is nothing in this world that Aspen can’t accomplish because she is learning to listen, learn, talk and live independently with hearing loss!

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