English version at bottom: Hola, soy Anais. Hace 26 años que me diagnosticaron un tumor en mi cerebro y desde mi país natal, Chile me tuve que venir con mi mamá al hospital de niños con Cáncer St Jude en Memphis. Estados Unidos. La vida ha sido súper dura, no tenía esperanzas de vivir mucho tiempo, pero ya tengo 28 años. Dijeron que no podría comer sola después de la traquetomía, pero lo logré. Dijeron que no caminaría sola y lo hago bastante bien y en forma autónoma. Dijeron que por mi parálisis facial podría quedar ciega, pero veo por uno de mis ojos y dijeron que quedaría sorda, pero mi mamá luchó para que me pudieran colocar un implante coclear, lo cual conseguimos. Hasta hoy escucho bastante bien, pero mi aparato que debería tener una vida útil de 10 años, ya lleva 12 años, por lo tanto está empezando a fallar, no es a prueba de agua, funciona con baterías de litio que tienen una valor que bordea los 275 USD y actualmente  tengo 8 y casi me alcanza para todo el día, pero si llego a quedar sin audífonos, no podré seguir escuchando, y mi capacidad para hablar es bastante buena, así que la idea es seguir aprendiendo. El nuevo aparato que necesito se llama Neptune y duraría otros 10 años, pero tiene muchas más ventajas, las baterías que ocupa son AA, y además existen las recargables, entonces el gasto se reduce a la máxima expresión, además tiene garantía los primeros 3 años y es a prueba de agua. Se imaginan poder escuchar el sonido de la lluvia o escuchar el agua en la ducha! Son cosas que me harían muy feliz. He sido súper valiente con cada prueba que me ha puesto la vida y este aparato lo cuido con mi vida. Ayúdame a continuar y seguir escuchando para que no me lo tengan que contar... Gracias . . . . . . . . . . . Hey everyone!! I rarely would ever do this but if you have time consider donating towards my big sisters go fund me! Her story is incredible. From surviving childhood brain cancer localized in the cerebellum, being told she would never walk, potentially never hear or see or be normal, to being the human she is today, she is incredible and works so hard everyday to be just like you and me. My sister, due to the surgeries and treatment to remove the tumor in her brain and spine area and due to the tumor itself, suffered a partial body paralysis causing blindness in one eye and complete deafness in her right ear amongst other things. She was used to wearing a hearing aid in her left ear and had some ability to hear through that side. Unfortunately one day, the doctors noticed she was losing hearing in that ear too. They then, almost 13 years ago now, implanted her with one of the very first cochlear implants given by St. Jude children’s research hospital when she was 14 years old. My sister became a St. Jude patient at just two years old in 1994. My mother, my sister and I moved from Chile to Memphis, Tennessee for a chance at saving my sisters life and giving her a normal life. Little do many people know that as a St. Jude patient the hospital can only support you financially in regards to medicine and surgery until a patient turns 21, my sister is now 26, after 21 any medicine surgery etc are left to the family to try to figure out. Up to now we have done a great job of getting her her daily medications and any doctors checks she needs, however a cochlear implant is an extremely expensive device that is simply far out of our economic reach. We didn’t know it then but when my sister was implanted with her cochlear implant she would need a new one, since their average lifespan is less than ten years. Her device is 13 years old. Her current cochlear device has been actually broken once before but we’ve managed to salvage it. The device is the ONLY reason my sister can hear, if it breaks she will be deaf until we can afford a new one. Just like you and I want a new car or a new phone or the latest shoes, all my sister wants is a new cochlear device, one that will allow her to hear water during the summer months by the pool, due to how much they have advanced and are now waterproof since her time, one that is lighter and smaller and not so heavy on her ear, but really most importantly one with a new lifespan so she doesn’t have to worry about going deaf everyday due to an outdated device and potentially a faulty device. Could you imagine worrying that everyday may be the day you lose your hearing? I ask you to consider helping us financially, these devices are very expensive and we are setting money aside and my sister works everyday at a factory herself cleaning shoes (far from the immobile person doctors believed she’d be), but maybe together we can help her achieve her goal much quicker and get her the one thing she really wishes for this Christmas.