Cochlear Implant
After 29 years of complete silence, Heather was finally able to hear through the help of a cochlear implant. The device picks up sound through a tiny microphone connected by a cord to a small box on the outside of the ear. The box turns the sound into a signal sending it through the skin, straight to her brain. The operation to put the device in place took 1 hour and 20 minutes. After the surgery she had to wait six weeks before the device could be turned on. At first she could only hear small sounds like a van door shutting, or water running through a faucet. Each new day she "Patiently waited to hear something new for the first time. I knew I it would be a while for the time to come when I could finally hear my sons voices which is what inspired me to get the implant in the first place." It took Heather 5 years to finally be able to hear all sounds, including her sons and husband's voices. Her decision to get the implant did spark some controversy in the disability world. Some saw her as an inspiration to others for doing so much with her impairment that they didn't like her decision to take away her deafness. She replied to those people that it was something she had thought long and hard about, and saw the implant as a new way for her to promote and motivate those with the same problem she had.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=116819
After 29 years of complete silence, Heather was finally able to hear through the help of a cochlear implant. The device picks up sound through a tiny microphone connected by a cord to a small box on the outside of the ear. The box turns the sound into a signal sending it through the skin, straight to her brain. The operation to put the device in place took 1 hour and 20 minutes. After the surgery she had to wait six weeks before the device could be turned on. At first she could only hear small sounds like a van door shutting, or water running through a faucet. Each new day she "Patiently waited to hear something new for the first time. I knew I it would be a while for the time to come when I could finally hear my sons voices which is what inspired me to get the implant in the first place." It took Heather 5 years to finally be able to hear all sounds, including her sons and husband's voices. Her decision to get the implant did spark some controversy in the disability world. Some saw her as an inspiration to others for doing so much with her impairment that they didn't like her decision to take away her deafness. She replied to those people that it was something she had thought long and hard about, and saw the implant as a new way for her to promote and motivate those with the same problem she had.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=116819