Support Children with Cochlear Implants: Bolesta Center

Dear friends and family,

I want you to take a second and reflect on a moment in your life in which someone stood up for you, not caring if it would benefit them in the end. Generosity is as uniquely opportunistic as it is intentional; it is my favorite form of advocacy.

My story begins in 2002. My parents worked to try and make ends meet. My father was a first-generation surgical resident who took out loans for his education, and my mother was an ER nurse, so we scraped by with minimum wage funds. My mom had noticed some strangeness with my behavior; I wasn't progressing as I should. Doctors diagnosed me with auditory neuropathy, which required surgeries, therapy, and follow-up care to treat.

Aside from the shock of the diagnosis, my parents were clueless on how they would afford these necessary treatments. I can only imagine the fear they felt as young parents due to the rarity of my diagnosis, as well as the expense of treatment. It was that day that my mother pioneered her ambitious letter-writing campaign to multiple surgical ENTs across America. She endured a series of disappointing consults with physicians claiming they wouldn't implant me until 4 years of age, well past the age of speech and imitation in young children.

Then, Dr. David Kelsall of Rocky Mountain Ear Clinic came into our lives. He agreed to perform the surgery at 12 months of age and within our in-network hospital even though it was not the location of his practice. Better yet, he waived the cost of all follow-up appointments with the hopes that we would extend his kindness to deaf children across America.

Since 2009, you have helped me to raise over $56,000 for deaf children and their families, forever changing the course of their lives and bringing them one step closer to their dreams. Because of you, they can become doctors, singers, teachers, and commit to whatever they put their young minds to.

This year, I am running the Best Damn Race Half-Marathon in Safety Harbor in honor of the Bolesta Center and the children they place at the forefront of their mission. I am hoping that these funds can continue to support these children with follow up appointments and speech therapy during their critical years of language and auditory development. Surgical care is incredibly expensive, but so is the cost of follow-up care.

I hope that we can meet our goal of $1,000 this year, benefitting the Bolesta Center at USF, a nonprofit hearing clinic that I have volunteered for since 2013. Please feel free to donate via this link. Every penny counts! The Bolesta Center, Dr. Kelsall, and your continuous support have reminded me that true advocacy and kindness transcend any barrier.

"Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone's life forever." - Margaret Cho