Sick to my Stomach

I really struggled with cross-posting this video. It's been going around on several hearing loss list-servs this week, and I know many of my D/HOH friends and CI Mommas have seen it. This blog is intended to be used as a resource for parents and also as a celebration of the miracle of the Cochlear Implant. I try to include information that is helpful for other families going through their own hearing loss and Cochlear Implant journey. I love sharing our milestones with Christian and also sharing our challenges.

I'm not even going to get into the debate of to implant or not, however this video profoundly impacted me. I felt sick to my stomach watching it. I sobbed. I wept. And all the while, I somehow understood this man's perspective. Unfortunately, hearing parents of deaf babies are misrepresented in the most grotesque way. I have been told in the past by radical members of the Deaf community (a community which I have found in the most part very welcoming) that we were "raping" or son and that we would "go to hell" for implanting him. I've been told that I "stole his identity" and that I am a "horrible parent". All that for giving my child the ability to listen and speak. My son's Cochlear Implant does NOT make him hearing. It helps him listen and speak. My son will ALWAYS be deaf.

I've learned in the past year or so after forming many friendships with deaf adults who use Cochlear Implants that there are members of the Deaf Community who are terrified of LOSING the next generation all together thanks to Cochlear Implants. My son IS the new Deaf generation. He listens. He speaks. He sometimes even signs. And some people are terrified of him and the 1,000s of other children growing up with the miracle of the Cochlear Implant.

Take this video for what it's worth, and watch it to the very end.
*And, yes, I still moderate my comments, so if you want to spread hate, do it somewhere else. The last thing new parents of deaf babies need to be exposed to is the hatred and negativity of the very few radicals who lurk on these blogs.