God Moments: My Child Needs a Hearing Aid

God MomentsGod moments: those little events in which God’s love and plan are laid bare. In which it is undeniable that He has a hand in our daily lives.

Sometimes, God moments are obvious, like when they involve everyone at gate A-4 of the Albuquerque airport. Other times, they are apparent only to the person who experiences them. I’ve found parenting has its share of God moments, particularly the latter kind.[hr]

My daughter is hearing impaired. She “failed” the newborn hearing screening administered in the hospital a few hours after her birth. The technician assured that a “no pass” result was not uncommon and that something as simple as fluid in her ears, an artifact of being in utero, could have caused the result. The screening was redone the next day. Again, no pass.

Hearing AidThe results of her two screenings put us on a path toward ascertaining the nature and extent of her impairment, which we did with the support of Sunshine Cottage’s Parent-Infant Program, pediatric ENT, Dr. Roderick Moe, and audiologist, Dr. Tracy Board. On her six-month “birthday,” Claudia was fitted with her first hearing aid.

Those six months were a bit of a whirlwind, as I came to terms that my tiny little daughter needed something I was not equipped to give her myself; that it was impossible to know whether the impairment would get worse, or the extent to which it would affect her life.

At the same time, I knew how lucky we were. Lucky that Texas performs hearing screenings on neonates, so that we knew at the earliest possible moment an issue needed to be addressed. Extraordinarily lucky that San Antonio has a resource like Sunshine Cottage, which is a beacon for families across the state and nation. Lucky that we had the ability and resources to run the issue to ground, and in only six months. Lucky that in the scheme of hearing impairments, Claudia’s, which is unilateral and classified as “moderately severe,” is not the worst one in the world.

And yet, with all this gratitude, I struggled to see my “perfect” baby with a hearing aid attached to her ear. For no reason other than simple vanity. It’s not a response I’m proud of.[hr]

After her fitting, I stopped at a nearby HEB. It wasn’t my usual grocery shopping day, and it wasn’t my usual store. In short, I had no foreseeable reason to be at that place, at that time.

As I navigated the produce section, a lovely little pre-teen girl and (a woman I assumed to be) her grandmother started exclaiming over the “cute baby” in my cart. I accepted their compliments but, still reeling from the events of the morning, was overcome by loghrrea. “Thank you, but she just got a new hearing aid. She’s wearing a hearing aid,” I sputtered.

At that moment, the girl broke into a smile, swept her long black hair away from the sides of her head, and revealed that she was wearing two hearing aids. All she said was, “I am too.”

At that moment, at not-my-HEB, in the middle of a weekday, I had my own private God moment.[hr]

If you would like to know more about our experience with Claudia’s hearing impairment please post in the comments below. I would be happy to share more details or visit with others walking a similar path, either on- or off-line.

Katy
Katy is a San Antonio native who spent seven years on the East Coast. She is back home now, married to her match.com sweetheart, rearing her children Claudia (5) and Thomas (3), and practicing tax law.

6 COMMENTS

  1. This made me tear up. I remember that with our daughter, Brooke. She lost her hearing around 2, and the guilt and somewhat ‘shame’ for feel is real. My God moment was sitting at Alamo Toyota. She had been implanted with her cochlear implants already, and her hair was up. A little girl asked what those things were on her head- I replied “Her ears don’t work like yours do, so those help her to hear.” She stared dumbfounded for a few seconds and said, in awe ‘those are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen!’ It was amazing. We too love Sunshine and all the help, love, and understanding they provide!

  2. The Sunshine Cottage is an exceptional place!!! We have just recently gone through this exact same scenario and they have been a godsend to my family!!

    • Jay, I’m so glad you are working with Sunshine Cottage. You said it best: “exceptional,” and “godsend.” Best of luck to you and your little one! –Katy

  3. Thanks for posting this sweet lady! I will be so excited to see how God uses this to her advantage…it has been my earnest experience that everything happens for a reason and I look forward to knowing exactly what gifts Claudia has been given, combined with this challenge she’s been given, which result in a God Moment for some lucky and unsuspecting soul in her future path 🙂 God Bless your family!

  4. God moments are so incredibly special and I’m tearfully thankful you had one just when you needed it. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful story!

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