EARS FOR ELIJAH

My son Elijah was born on October 30, 2003. He was a handsome baby with the bluest eyes.  At the hospital Elijah failed his initial hearing test.  The doctor said it was common for an infant to do so but after continuing to fail back to back hearing tests we knew something was wrong and Elijah was later diagnosed with profound hearing loss.  His mother Jodi and I were both upset to hear the news, especially after realizing no hearing aid was strong enough to help Elijahs condition. It was definitely a hard pill to swallow yet we continued to move forward and began teaching and learning sign language with Elijah.  After a while Jodi had begun to look into other options for our son. She noticed that some children and adults could be candidates for a new device called a Cochlear Implant. A Cochlear implant is a device that uses what few hearing cells a person (with profound hearing loss)  has and uses a processor to communicate with that individuals brain. Although Elijah was diagnosed with profound hearing loss ,he was not totally deaf. He didn't have enough hearing cells for a hearing aid to work but he did have enough to be eligible for a Cochlear Implant.  After much deliberation Elijah received his first implant  at 18 months of age and he later received another.  Elijah can now speak and listen, as well as engage in full conversations with others. This is all due to the hard work and dedication his mother had in giving Elijah as normal of a life as possible. Jodi enrolled Elijah in a school program strictly for children with Cochlear Implants called Sound Beginnings located in Logan, Utah.  She religiously took Elijah to every appointment needed to make sure his implants were tuned and updated to make sure he had the best hearing possible.  Although Jodi and I are no longer married it does not take away from the fact that I will always be forever grateful for the mother she was and currently is to my son.

Both Jodi and I are now faced with a new dilema. We have been informed that Elijah's current implants will no longer be in production. What this means is his current processor and all parts are now obsolete.  We are now faced with the daunting task of purchasing  two new processors.   Elijah does have health insurance but we are constantly given the run around. Our last conversation with the insurance company ended with them telling me they cover cochlear implants but not the ones Elijah has. I have decided to just raise the money myself and I will.  These funds will go directly towards purchasing Elijahs new implants along with other accesories that will be needed in aiding him in school.  Thank you and God Bless.

Nathan Lopez