Raquel, 4 years old, written by her Mom Paola

When our daughter Raquel was born in December 2003, we were thrilled to have a beautiful baby girl. Her hearing test at birth gave normal results, as well as the second one at the age of 7 months. Raquel has always been a very happy and communicative baby. At the age of 9 months she started saying her first word, “mamma”. Then, as months passed, she improved her vocabulary and seemed to understand what she was told.

But later, at about the age of 20 months, she seemed to have fallen behind her peers as far as her speech and comprehension skills were concerned. Several paediatricians attributed this problem to the fact that Raquel is bilingual: I am Italian, my husband is American, and we live in Italy. Our first child, Michael (8 years old), however, is also bilingual, but he did not have any problem learning both languages. Furthermore, Michael and Raquel followed very similar patterns and schedules for nearly all developmental skills (physical, temperamental, etc.), but not for speech development.

Because of this, we were not convinced by the doctors’ explanations of Raquel’s speech delay, so we decided to take her to Innsbruck and have a special hearing test done at the University Clinic (August 2006). My husband and I were shocked by the results: she had become profoundly deaf in both ears. Fortunately, the doctor there was very nice and professional. She immediately informed us of what turned out to be a wonderful solution: the cochlear implant.

The very same afternoon my husband went to visit MED-EL, the manufacturer of hearing implants in Innsbruck.

People there were friendly and competent and gave him full information about hearing implants, thereby assisting us in reaching our decision as quickly as possible. Immediately upon our return to Italy, Raquel was fitted with bilateral hearing aids and started regular speech therapy to prepare her for hearing skills.

So the process began: diagnosing her deafness, having the preliminary tests done, and finding the right center and the right surgeon for the implant. We decided on Franz Tappeiner Hospital in Meran, not the closest one to us, but one of the best centers in Italy for cochlear implants.

We immediately felt confident in the surgeon’s abilities, and he calmed all our worries about the surgery, the implant and our daughter’s future.
None of the tests revealed any anatomical or physiological anomalies, so it may be that Raquel lost her hearing due to drug therapy she was given as an infant (the result of a potential side effect that resulted in loss of hearing). Raquel was implanted on November 23rd, 2006, with a Pulsar ci100 , which was activated on December 21th, 2006, and the new Opus 2 Speech Processor. It is the latest and greatest in speech-processing technology, and we are thankful for this opportunity. She loves it, and she is very eager to hear everything going on around her. In the morning, as soon as she gets up she asks for it to be put on.

It’s hard to believe that Raquel has had the implant for just barely a year; I could write for pages telling you stories about things we have accomplished in this short time:

Seeing the wonder in her eyes as she listened to the sound of her favourite “tip-tap” shoes on the floor the same evening she was activated or her repeating the word “baby” the next morning at breakfast.

• Watching her – transfixed – in front of the TV: she didn’t know that the thing produced sound!
• Seeing her looking in awe at birds chirping.
• Calling from the kitchen to her in her bedroom, to ask her if she wants some milk to drink and having her say “yes mommy”.
• Listening to her sing and play instruments with her older brother.
• Observing her as she also starts to learn and speak in two languages.

At the risk of sounding rhetorical, I have to declare that the MED-EL implant has been a godsend, and has changed our lives forever. Raquel now has a chance for a normal future. The shock of discovering that our beautiful and healthy baby girl suddenly, and seemingly for no rational reason at all, was profoundly deaf is still a strong memory. But the MED-EL device has offered us a glimpse of a better future for Raquel. She remains a very happy and exuberant girl; she loves life. A day does not pass without my husband and I being reminded of what a miracle this is. We are thankful to the wonderful people of MED-EL who create the technology we now appreciate more than could be imagined. Thank you for letting me share our story. I hope that by reading it and looking at Raquel, you too may share in the joy we revel in everyday.