Good Morning and welcome back to the work week after a fantastic weekend!
You know, growing up mostly healthy (sure there was chicken pox and the like, but nothing serious), it's easy to think everybody is the same.
Well, now we know they are not. There are amazing people who have battled various disabilities from Day 1 and don't let it stop them.
Sunday there was a kick-off event for this year's Walk4Hearing. Now, I know, there are walks for everything these days. There are Cancer walks, AIDS walks, MS walks. Name a cause and there's something put together that helps a lot of people and gets everybody out for a nice day.
Today, I want to talk about the Walk4Hearing.
Anybody who has a child knows they do hearing scans the first days after birth. When Brendan was born, we dutifully walked him down to the scan center and they put the headphones on his tiny head.
The readout came back as a fail for his right ear.
OK, the nurse said, that happens sometimes right after birth. We'll check it in a day or two.
Well, the same result came back. So, we were sent to a specialist. They told us he had hearing loss in the right ear, but it shouldn't affect him until he gets school age.
So, Brendan went through the early years just like anybody else. Well, anybody who had a daredevil mentality and thought it was a good idea to dive, head first, off the couch into the floor, then dust himself off and do it again.
Once school started, though, it became apparent Brendan was going to need some help. In a big classroom, he couldn't always hear the teacher. As you can well imagine, any young student who can't hear the teacher will do things the teacher doesn't want done.
When he got to first grade, he was able to get an FM System, which not only allowed him to hear what the teacher was saying, but helped make him a better student.
As he heads into third grade, he's still jumping out of trees (and debating Star Wars with his brother) and the system helps his brain break down the sounds around him.
So, for the second year, we will take part in the Walk4Hearing at Ridley Creek State Park Saturday, Sept. 25.
It's a fun time with games, food and, of course, walking. Everybody laughs. Everybody has fun.
If you can, check out our page for Brendan's Buddies at www.walk4hearing.com
It's close to our heart.
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