This is Adi. She is a smart, bright, curious, and wonderful ray of sunshine to everyone who meets her. She was born with profound hearing loss, and even though technology is advancing, it is unlikely three year-old Adi will ever hear without an aid of some sort. In fact, recent hearing tests have concluded that her hearing is deteriorating in spite of the latest technological and medical advancements.
- Roughly one in 1,000 babies are born with profound hearing loss, according to the CDC.
Even though genetics cause hearing loss about 50% of the time, the cause for Adi’s moderate to severe hearing loss is completely unknown.
Hearing aids are costly. The price for one aid is between $4,000. Imagine putting that on a toddler’s head. Imagine communicating to your child, who cannot hear, that the hearing aid is precious and needs to be cared for with gentleness and the utmost care. Imagine the anxiety and heavy burden of cost associated with the process of helping your child hear. Adi attends speech therapy twice a week, and gets her hearing tested once a month.
The kicker in all of this is insurance doesn’t cover a dime. Hearing aids are lumped together in the same category as vision, except there is no hearing aid “plan”. Adi’s parents get resourceful to cover her ever-changing needs, and continue to hope and search for a way for Adi to hear without a hearing aid.
Focusing on the small victories help keep Adi’s family’s spirits up, even while they face the monumental task of helping their daughter hear. The small sounds we take for granted? Adi discovers them, brand new, every day.
Adi’s mom shared this great moment with us.
“Just the other day, she heard the soft sound of a dove singing. She asked me what it was – I explained and then she quietly listened – and heard it again! It’s those moments that make my heart happy that my daughter isn’t missing out on the simple sounds in life.” —Christie, amazing mom to Adi
May we remember to relish the songs of the birds, and the sound of wind in the trees. Thank you for reminding us, Adi. We are all cheering you on!
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