Living and Loving – September 2019

‘The second

implantelicited

no tears,just

smiles...shenow

respondedto

high andlow

frequencies.”

family life

L&L | SEPTEMBER 2019 | 75

PHOTOGRAPHY

SUPPLIED

Kara to a daycare would stimulate

her development. When I picked

her up the first day, I was called in

by the head of the school and told

what I already knew, but needed

to hear from someone else. Kara

was way behind on her milestones.

She needed to be evaluated as

soon as possible. I just sobbed.

“I eventually made an

appointment at the Baby Therapy

Centre in Pretoria. Kara was

evaluated by several therapists and

the report revealed that she was on

par with an eight-month-old. She

was 12 months old at the time. They

ruled out syndromes, but were sure

there was something wrong with

her ears. We drove straight to our

paediatrician who referred us to an

ENT.” Kara was given grommits to

reduce the pressure in her ears, but

the doctor said he had a gut feeling

she was deaf. That day, Kara failed

two audio screening tests and again

a week later. An auditory brain stem

test under anaesthesia was advised.

Treatment begins

When the audiologist emerged from

theatre shaking his head, Brumilda’s

heart sank. “I felt physical pain

for my child. I broke down. I could

hear my cries echo through the

hallway. People passing stared.”

Kara was diagnosed as profoundly

deaf, which is defined as being

unable to understand speech

through hearing – even when sound

is amplified with hearing aids.

Kara would never be able to learn

to speak or live a normal life.

“After we’d had a few days to

process our new reality, and time

to research and read up about her

condition, the idea of cochlear

implants became our ray of hope.

It was scary and we had no idea

what to expect, but one thing was

certain – we were going to fight for

our daughter. As it turns out, she

was the perfect age for cochlear

implants (the younger the better).”

A long journey

It took 28 consultations in four

months to obtain a correct diagnosis

and approval for bilateral cochlear

implants. There was also a sense of

urgency: If a child has been deaf

since birth and they have not heard

or learnt a language by the age of

four or five, they don’t

usually benefit from

a cochlear implant.

“We had to get Kara

implanted as soon as

possible,” says Brumilda.

Due to Kara’s weight

and age, she had two

operations within six

months of each other.

“We discovered the

combined procedures,

devices and therapy would cost

around R1 million. Although we were

on a medical aid, each fund and

plan offers different cover. Some pay

a portion for this procedue, but most

schemes have it as an exclusion.

There was no way we could afford

it after the medical expenses of the

past few years,” says Brumilda.

Fortunately, they were able to

secure cover. “I cried the day Bonitas

approved Kara’s first implant. In fact,

I think I cried more than when we

discovered she was deaf. This would

change our child’s life forever.”

After the operation

Kara’s first implant was nothing short

of a miracle. When it was turned

on, she responded immediately

with a smile that then turned to

cries. It took time for her brain

to make sense of all the new

auditory input − to process it and

turn it into meaningful signals.

It’s a process, but it really doesn’t

get any better than this.

“The external device needs to

be put in a dryer every night, the

batteries need to be charged, the

covers and cables checked and

the spare parts packed every day.

School teachers had to be trained,

and we even figured out a cool new

haircut that helps the magnets stick

better. What seemed

overwhelming in the

beginning quickly

became routine and

ultimately a very small

price to pay for the

rewards in return.

“She can hear,

she just doesn’t react

the way everyone

expects her to. It takes

time and we need

to be patient. It took about two

months for her to start mimicking

words like ‘nee’ and ‘ja’ and much

later she started saying, ‘ma’.”

The second implant elicited no

tears, just smiles. And after having

no response to hearing tests before

the implants, she now reacted

to high and low frequencies.

“Kara will be able to go to a

mainstream school, just like her

brother. This will present new

challenges, but ones we will

deal with. Most importantly, my

daughter will not be separated

or labelled. She will be able to

do what her heart desires and

not be held back by a disability.

This makes me so excited for

what the future holds.” LL