Help Dad Hear Again: Support for Hearing Aids

On August 8th 2024 my mom came home and found my dad exhibiting what appeared to be severe dehydration. He was taken by ambulance to the local hospital where they found a 29.7mm brain tumor in his frontal lobe covering about 20% of his brain. The tumor had gotten so large it started cutting off the flow of cerebral spinal fluid to one side of his brain creating extreme swelling causing him to be symptomatic.

He was transferred to Miami valley main campus where he spent a week in the Neuro ICU having additional testing and being monitored. During this time he became “stable” but started to exhibit hearing loss that they believed had come from the swelling. He was discharged home on August 15th to allow his brain time to rest with the assistance of medication and prepared for surgery. August 28th he had a successful 6hr surgery. His incredible surgical team was able to remove the entire brain tumor which was classified as a grade 1 meningioma leaving behind only what had grown into the sinus cavity and bone of his face. This was recently treated by 5 days of high dose radiation..

Throughout this journey my dad has experienced so many side effects and complications but losing his hearing has by far been the worst. He can’t watch tv, listen to the radio, drive a car and struggles to hold conversation because he simply cannot hear. Although we had hoped the loss was linked to the swelling that’s unfortunately not the case. Last week he had an appointment with an audiologist and it was confirmed his hearing is severely damaged and the only option to correct it will be hearing aids. The problem is the hearing aids he needs cost about $7k and insurance will only cover $2k of it leaving my parents to come up with $5k. With my dad being unable to work and my mom missing so much work to care for my dad and attend appointments the money just isn’t there.

Although I know he would NEVER ask for help I’m seeking help for him. I’m asking our friends, family, coworkers and strangers to please consider making a donation to help us get him what he needs and giving him the best Christmas gift of them all, his hearing back.