Cochlear Implant College Basketball Player Greg White

Greg White's college basketball coach had no idea he was deaf.  Because Greg hears so well with his cochlear implants, his coach assumed that his player was simply ignoring him during practice one day.  It took a teammate telling the coach that Greg was deaf for the coach to know!

Mark Znidar of the Columbus Dispatch writes:

White's hearing was never brought up because he has never considered it a problem. He can pick up low-level sounds such as an eraser on a blackboard and soft rain on the roof of a car because of a hearing aid in his right ear and a cochlear implant in his left.

He speaks clearly, although people have asked if he is from a foreign country. There is a hint of what can best be described as baby talk in his speech.

White has a 3.2 GPA through two years of college at Ohio Wesleyan, is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, all while starting on the basketball team.

These accomplishments wouldn't be possible, White said, had his parents, Richard and Cathe, not decided to raise him in the hearing world after his deafness was diagnosed at age 8 months. He was outfitted with a hearing aid at 9 months and enrolled in a private school when the family lived in Whittier, Calif.

"Everybody in our family is hearing and everybody we knew could hear, so we said Greg would remain in the hearing world," Mrs. White said. "If you don't begin oral training in a child's first years, he or she always will be behind. When he was an infant, I would be so verbal with everything. Greg has worked so hard to get this far. It's a credit to him."

Interestingly, as we have discussed on this blog, the White family was approached and told what to do with Greg.  They were told that their son should be raised in the deaf community.

"A specialist gave us his card and said, 'Get back to me because your son is so deaf that he will never be able to talk,'" Mrs. White said. "I'd like to talk to that man now. There was such a big push at the time to enroll him in the deaf culture."

Whether you've experienced pressure to be involved in deaf culture, or whether you are a member of that community and have faced pressure to be involved in the hearing world, Greg White has the interesting experience of belonging to both, as he recently began playing in the World Deaf Basketball Championships.

"I had to learn sign language," White said. "Playing basketball with the deaf has been a great experience. But I'm glad I'm part of the hearing culture. I have my parents to thank for that."

Congratulations to Greg White, and when you get frustrated with helping your children hear, read, and grow, just look at what hard work can do! P.S. Remember NBA cochlear implant basketball player Lance Allred?

An Amazing Experience: Meeting MLB Pitcher Jim Abbott

On a recent trip to California, Drew's Dad and I met Olympic Gold Medalist and former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Abbott. We were fortunate enough to attend a meeting my company was holding where Jim was the keynote speaker. It was such an amazing experience to listen to him speak about his ability to become a successful baseball player, against all odds.




Born without a right hand, Jim Abbott defied all of the odds to become a major league baseball pitcher. Despite being born with a disability, he truly believes that more has given to him than was ever taken away by his birth defect. He talked to our group about the need to A.D.A.P.T. in order to overcome our circumstances and achieve our goals:

• Adjustability: Thinking of a different way to do things, given your circumstances. For Jim, he had to make adjustments just to be able to tie his shoes. For Drew, we use a food saver to water proof his cochlear implants for swimming. No matter what the circumstance, little adjustments can make just about any situation work.
• Determination: We are constantly told about the things we can not do. If we start to believe that we can not do something, it limits our abilities. We must filter out all of the negativity in order to reach our goals.
• Accountability: Never let the circumstances of life be an excuse for not meeting your goals. You are accountable for your actions. Have you made the most of your talents today?
• Perseverance: At times, your goals may not seem possible. But so much is possible if you just hang on to your goal and keep working!
• Trust: The ability to know that you are prepared and can do anything! Bring trust into every situation! You can achieve just about anything if you trust in your abilities.

During the presentation, Jim demonstrated little adaptations he had to make in order to be able not only to pitch, but field his position. He showed us how he would get his glove back on after pitching the ball, in order to field his position. In fact, I was the one that got to play catch with him during this part of the presentation! Check playing catch with a New York Yankee pitcher-that-threw-a-no-hitter off of my "to-do" list!

This presentation was designed to speak to my inner "sales representative" soul, in a time of economic strife, but instead struck special cord as a mom of a child with special needs. There were points during his presentation where I could feel myself tearing up. What did Jim's parents do to raise such a strong, secure, determined son? How had Jim handled being made fun of for being and looking different? When did Jim learn of his disability, and what did his parents tell him about it? There were so many questions that ran through my mind. I wanted to learn as much as I could from him on how I can impower Drew to be self-confidant, determined, successful and proud of being different.

Fortunately, Drew's Dad and I were able to spend a considerable amount of time one-on-one with Jim, and were able to talk about our personal situation. We asked Jim if he could give us any advice on how to empower Drew. Jim told us of his Dad, and that one of his dad's key motto's to him was "Be a leader today!" Jim's Dad talked with him each day about the choices he had to make, and that if Jim was a leader, all of his friends and classmates would follow.

Jim also spoke of how being a part of a team, as baseball provided, was a great way to help him "fit in". He strongly encouraged having Drew participate and lead in team sports, which would lead to acceptance without questioning his differences.

If you believe in yourself, nothing can stop you, and then amazing things can happen. We left with an autographed baseball: "To Drew, Anything is Possible!" Jim Abbott

***Drew's Dad here...I just wanted to add this video in case one of you hadn't heard of Jim Abbott. Enjoy!***

Preakness Jockey Kent Desormeaux Races Against Time For Deaf Son With Cochlear Implants and Usher Syndrome

Two weeks ago we discovered that Kentucky Derby winning jockey Kent Desormeaux has a deaf son with cochlear implants, named Jake. Everyone in my family was so excited to see Jake on the television since you rarely see anyone with cochlear implants anywhere, and I searched the internet to find footage of the pre-race story about him (it is linked in my post immediately above). It was a shock to find out that Jake has Usher Syndrome (sometimes called "Usher's Syndrome"), a genetic condition which is causing Jake to lose his sight at an increasing pace.

This USA Today article describes how Jake has had 17 major surgeries during his life, including 11 on his ears, which is an incredible number. The family is trying to have Jake experience as much as possible visually, while he can still see - which must be heartbreaking each and every day. His prescription eyeglasses are outdated almost every couple of months.

Tomorrow, Jake's dad will race Big Brown in the 133rd Preakness Stakes, looking to complete the second piece of a possible Triple Crown. I wish Mr. Desormeaux the best of luck, so we can let young Jake see (and hear) his dad win another huge horse race.

Kentucky Derby Winner Big Brown and Cochlear Implants

They call the Kentucky Derby the "most exciting two minutes in sports". While it turned out to be an exciting race, with winner Big Brown dominating the field, the excitement peaked when I noticed winning jockey Kent Desormeaux's son Jake after his father had just crossed the finish line.Jake is deaf, and wears bilateral cochlear implants.

At first I was unsure of what I had just seen. I thought I saw a child with cochlear implants on my TV screen, but because you don't see that too often (or ever), it took me a second look to be sure. It was so great to see another child like Drew out there in the world!

The announcer for the broadcast said something like "and there is son Jake, with those implants that allow him to hear the roar of the crowd". I thought it was a touching comment, and I think that will help the public become more aware of what cochlear implants are.

This article, from April of 2001, describes Jake's diagnosis and initial CI surgery. Another, earlier article describes his family's first thoughts and concerns about Jake's future.

As much as anything about the Kentucky Derby, Kent Desormeaux says, he enjoys the sounds. The weighty rattle of the starting gate as the doors slam shut behind the last horse to line up. The gathering roar of the crowd in the moment before the race begins.

The frenzied roar of the crowd as he rides a winner down the long Churchill Downs stretch, something he has done twice now, sounds pretty sweet, too.

Desormeaux and his wife, Sonia, got some bad news a couple of weeks ago. Their younger son, 14-month-old Jake, may never experience the delight of those sounds or any others.

Tests confirmed that Jake was born deaf. It's an affliction to which the jockey can relate, having lost the hearing in his right ear in a December 1992 racing accident at Hollywood Park.

``It's depressing to think your child is going to grow up without being able to hear music,'' Desormeaux said. Like ``My Old Kentucky Home''?

His family's tragedy put Desormeaux, 30, in a different mood as he approached Saturday's Derby, in which he rode the favored Fusaichi Pegasus to a convincing victory.

Thankfully, Jake's surgeries went well, and he was able to hear "My Old Kentucky Home" and the roar of the crowd as his father crossed the finish line on 2008 Kentucky Derby Champion Big Brown.

If Jake is the first person you've seen with a cochlear implant, and you came here to learn more, please leave a comment!

***Note: After searching for the NBC pre-race coverage (video here) we understand that young Jake was recently diagnosed with Usher's Syndrome(Usher Syndrome). Unfortunately, this means that Jake may experience vision impairment and possible difficulty with balance in a progressive fashion. Let us all pray that Jake be affected by this as little as possible.***

*** Here is the NBC Broadcast showing Jake at 2:48:***

Dancing With the Stars

I was watching Dancing with the Stars last Monday night. (Well, not really watching, just listening to it in the background as I worked). When Marlee Matlin's turn came, I glanced toward the television to find that she visited Mexico over the past week and witnessed children having their hearing aids turned on for the first time with help from The Starkey Hearing Foundation.




I am not a Marlee Matlin fan. (Although I respect her work). I know nothing about The Starkey Hearing Foundation. (But I am going to learn more). Watching as these children heard their parents voices for the first time brought back the flood of emotions I had watching Drew hear for the first time. Thank you Marlee, Fabian and The Starkey Hearing Foundation for not only helping children around the world to hear, but for bringing awareness to hearing loss.

As a side note, Marlee Matlin will star tonight on CBS in the Hallmark Hall of Fame Movie, Sweet Nothing in My Ear, about a couple's struggle on whether or not to give their son a cochlear implant. (My guess is that the couple ends up not in favor of the cochlear implant for their son, but I'll have to watch to find out!) I've set my DVR and plan on watching it tomorrow and will post my thoughts once I have watched the movie.

Teardrops

This song makes me smile whenever I hear it:



Click Here for Lyrics.

Drew Walks: Check

Drew Talks: We're working on it!

Beautiful Girlfriend: In the distant, distant future!

Author L.N. Cronk Finds Drew an Inspiration for Character in Novel "Pon, Pon"

Author L.N. Cronk lists the following on their website "favorites" page:

Young Drew was the youngest person in the state of Ohio to receive simultaneous, bilateral cochlear implants. I gathered much of my information for Lili's storyline in Pon, Pon from this site. Click here to keep up with Drew's progress!

Download a copy of Pon, Pon and take a look. Those familiar with this blog will notice references to my prior post concerning the similarities between bluetooth headsets for cell phones and cochlear implants, as well as to a mother's hope that her baby can hear her say "I love you".

This reminds me of the purpose with which we started this blog - to make sure that other families who felt "in the dark" about their newborn's hearing loss to have easy access to at least some of the options available to them. I find it very satisfying to know that Drew's story is continually helping others in some way, including as the inspiration for a fictional character.