Some of you know that our son Jeff is deaf. He was diagnosed just before he was three. He was tested regularly and his hearing was deteriorating fast. Luckily it just came to a stop and he was left with a moderate to severe sensorineural bilateral hearing loss. By 3 he was wearing 2 hearing aids and learning to speak.
For some babies and children they don’t have any hearing, they are profoundly deaf, they can’t hear anything at all. There is hope for these children, it is called a cochlear implant and with lots of learning and input it will allow them to hear and learn to speak. It is absolutely amazing. Get a tissue and watch this 2 minute video.
Isn’t that incredible?
The Carel Du Toit Centre is in South Africa, where they teach these children who have been lucky enough to have cochlear implants, which is where my friend’s son went.
I learnt about cochlear implants from my friend Sue, her son Hughan has a cochlear implant. They arrived from South Africa about the same time we arrived from Portsmouth and our boys both ended up in the same class. It is wonderful to see how well Hughan has done since I have known him, he is now working full time, I can ring and speak to him on the phone, which is just great.
Sue is publishing Hughan’s Diary from the first days onwards, they had videos and pictures of his learning. You can find Hughan’s Diary here. She hopes it will help other parents with children with cochlear implants, to help them work with their children and give encouragement and hope to the parents.
In South Africa there is no National Health Service so each operation has to be paid for. I think she said it cost £50,000 for the operation, £45,000 is provided via the university hospital and £5,000 by parents. It is a very expensive business. If you wish to make a donation you can through www.hughansdiary.com.
After 2 years studying Countryside Management, he changed tack and has just finished his degree in Architectural Technology and the Environment at Plymouth Uni with a 2:1. He is now back home and job hunting.
I felt quite moved by this little video and just wanted to pass it on.