Erika Needs New Hearing Aides!
Donation protected
Hey Friends!
Let’s support our dear friend Erika on her journey to get new hearing aides!
She’s a brilliant human who will be studying this fall at George Washington University in D.C. to receive her Masters Degree in Speech Pathology– a career that will allow her to work with children who suffer from hearing loss! (: How cool?
Erika currently works at Lumiere Children’s Therapy and as a nanny for a local family. Between her two jobs and studies, she’s managed to run a couple marathons, enjoy an assortment of children’s literature, and manages to be an incredible friend to her Chicago community.
It’s incredibly important that Erika can hear fully when she goes back to school in the fall, especially as hearing plays a very important role in her chosen career of speech language pathology. (:
A few Questions & Answers on the Situation:
Q: Erika has Hearing Loss? Since When?!
A: Erika was diagnosed with bilateral hearing loss that is severe to profound (70 - 89 dBHL) in the higher frequencies in the spring of 2017, resulting in the need to wear hearing aides whenever she’s out and about (which is all the time).
Q: How did she receive her first hearing aides?
A: Still surprised by her recent diagnosis, Erika began researching how she could cover the costs of the hearing aides which were set to cost upwards of $4000.00.
This seemed like an insurmountable challenge, as the cost would need to be covered out of pocket. Great news came through Erika’s amazing audiologist at the Hearing Health Center informing her that she was eligible for a sponsorship through Department of Health Services (Division of Rehabilitation Services)! This meant that the cost of her original set of hearing aides would be fully covered! Wow!
Q: What happened to her hearing aides?
A: These hearing aides lasted and were an incredible help to her hearing for two years before one was lost while riding on the blue line subway in Chicago, IL. After an extensive search that was kept up for a few months, Erika looked into replacing the lost aid.
Q: How much do the new hearing aide cost?
A: The cost for these new hearing aide is just over $1,600.00 (plus interest if not paid off within 1 year), and any additional funds raised will go toward covering some recent medical bills. It’s cool to not be bogged down by medical bills.
Q: When are these funds needed by?
A: Erika places the request for new hearing aides this week – she will receive them after submitting full payment!
Q: What does Erika plan to do once she can hear fully again?
A: Erika plans to fulfill her life-long dream of hearing her favorite band Paramore live in concert (this is kind of a joke, but also maybe not?).
If you’ve ever had a great convo with Erika – and enjoyed being heard too! – please donate to this fund!
Let’s support our dear friend Erika on her journey to get new hearing aides!
She’s a brilliant human who will be studying this fall at George Washington University in D.C. to receive her Masters Degree in Speech Pathology– a career that will allow her to work with children who suffer from hearing loss! (: How cool?
Erika currently works at Lumiere Children’s Therapy and as a nanny for a local family. Between her two jobs and studies, she’s managed to run a couple marathons, enjoy an assortment of children’s literature, and manages to be an incredible friend to her Chicago community.
It’s incredibly important that Erika can hear fully when she goes back to school in the fall, especially as hearing plays a very important role in her chosen career of speech language pathology. (:
A few Questions & Answers on the Situation:
Q: Erika has Hearing Loss? Since When?!
A: Erika was diagnosed with bilateral hearing loss that is severe to profound (70 - 89 dBHL) in the higher frequencies in the spring of 2017, resulting in the need to wear hearing aides whenever she’s out and about (which is all the time).
Q: How did she receive her first hearing aides?
A: Still surprised by her recent diagnosis, Erika began researching how she could cover the costs of the hearing aides which were set to cost upwards of $4000.00.
This seemed like an insurmountable challenge, as the cost would need to be covered out of pocket. Great news came through Erika’s amazing audiologist at the Hearing Health Center informing her that she was eligible for a sponsorship through Department of Health Services (Division of Rehabilitation Services)! This meant that the cost of her original set of hearing aides would be fully covered! Wow!
Q: What happened to her hearing aides?
A: These hearing aides lasted and were an incredible help to her hearing for two years before one was lost while riding on the blue line subway in Chicago, IL. After an extensive search that was kept up for a few months, Erika looked into replacing the lost aid.
Q: How much do the new hearing aide cost?
A: The cost for these new hearing aide is just over $1,600.00 (plus interest if not paid off within 1 year), and any additional funds raised will go toward covering some recent medical bills. It’s cool to not be bogged down by medical bills.
Q: When are these funds needed by?
A: Erika places the request for new hearing aides this week – she will receive them after submitting full payment!
Q: What does Erika plan to do once she can hear fully again?
A: Erika plans to fulfill her life-long dream of hearing her favorite band Paramore live in concert (this is kind of a joke, but also maybe not?).
If you’ve ever had a great convo with Erika – and enjoyed being heard too! – please donate to this fund!
Organizer and beneficiary
Noëlle Viard
Organizer
Chicago, IL
Erika Whalen
Beneficiary