Whitley has been sharing her beautiful smile with this world for 4.5 years. This kid has the biggest will to survive and smiles through it all! We were blessed 2 years ago to call her our daughter and brought her home from Xian, China. She has survived heart, kidney, bladder, spine, hernia, reconstructive back, neck, and foot surgeries all in the last 2.5 years along with many hospitalizations due to other stuff. During Whitley’s spine surgery, they did an ABR hearing test, and we were not ready for the devastating news that hearing loss would be yet another challenge our daughter would face. She is deaf in her left ear and has very limited hearing in her right ear. Our eyes were opened to the world of those with hearing loss, and we immediately wondered if Whitley would ever hear our voices.
Little did I know when I walked through the doors of Hearts for Hearing, everything would change. Every staff member was so kind and welcoming, it was as if they knew my daughter as Whitley and not just a patient. As I watched in the waiting room, each child that entered their facility was welcomed with the same warm feeling. Their speech therapist would come out and give them hugs, and the kids would get so excited to see them. I knew within minutes of the evaluation that Hearts for Hearing was exactly where we needed to be. I truly felt like I was sitting around the table with some friends who were helping me better understand the situation I was in.
Whitley has had her cochlear implant for a year and a half and is doing extremely well. Now she hears so many sounds and talks more every day. I love every new word she learns to use and look forward to watching her conquer this communication challenge as well. We know that she wants to talk more because she never stops. Hearts for Hearing continues to give Whitley additional opportunities to work on listening and spoken language. I could not be more grateful for the love and support of this organization, and hope they are blessed every single day for their hard work, dedication and love for our children.
– Whitley’s Mom & Dad
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