Lucy's Story
At 1 and a half years old, our daughter Lucy, became profoundly deaf in both ears.
I am the mother of a deaf child. At 1 and a half years old, our daughter Lucy, became profoundly deaf in both ears after contracting bacterial meningitis. We were grateful that she survived the illness, but devastated that she would never hear again. My husband and I are scientists (I am a geologist and he is a biologist working at UNM), and after some research decided that bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) were the right choice for Lucy. CIs would afford Lucy the ability to stay integrated in the predominantly oral/spoken language culture of New Mexico and the US as a whole. We acted quickly because research demonstrates that a child's primary time for language/speech learning occurs between the ages of 1-3yrs. Thus, any delay in returning access to sound, could potentially impact Lucy's speech and language ability for her lifetime; Lucy has been successfully using her CIs since late April 2018.
As it turns out, however, returning access to sound, is only half the battle. Because we have made a choice for Lucy to use oral language as her primary means to communicate, we were tasked with finding an educational program to support her continued speech and auditory training. Luckily we connected early with the Presbyterian Ear Institute. With their dedicated oral language training Lucy has been exceeding expectations. – Cori, Lucy’s Mom
