Miss-Delectable
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Three-year-old Ballyholey boy needs a bionic ear - News - Corkman.ie
IMAGINE being able to laugh but not being able to hear the sound of other people's joy ringing in your ears.
Few of us could even contemplate such a life, much less have to cope with it each and every day of our lives.
Little Calum Geary from Ballyhooley has never heard the chatter of his three siblings or the gentle soothing voices of his doting parents Helen and Andrew.
Last year, the bubbly three-yearold was diagnosed as being profoundly deaf due to a lack of all the hearing and balance nerves linking his ears to his brain.
While his parents realise their son will never be able to hear fully, they have been given hope in the form of a device that has the potential to open the gateway to a whole new world of sound for Calum.
It was while Calum was being assessed at Dublin's Beaumont hospital that doctors told them about Auditory Brainstem Implants (ABI), a revolutionary device that has only been used on less than 140 people in the world.
It involves implanting a miniature device, a so-called ' bionic ear', that would activate the hearing part of Calum's brain, allowing him to hear sound and, in time, give him the ability to recognise human speech.
Helen and Andrew were recently given a date for the pioneering surgery at the Manchester University Hospital, one of the key ABI centres in the world.
While the initial cost of the surgery is set to be covered under the Treatment Abroad Scheme, a fundraising campaign has been established to cover the cost of post-operative care and ongoing therapy.
Helen said that both she and Andrew had been moved by the level of support they have received from friends, family and groups working with deaf people. "We recognise that Calum will always be a part of the deaf community. All that we want to be able to say in 20-years time is that we have done our best for Calum and explored every opportunity," said Helen.
"To be able to offer our son the gift of sound is something that we have dreamt about and we are truly excited at having the chance to realise that dream," she added.
To find out about more Calum's story and to donate to the Calum Trust Fund visit Calum's ABI – Hope for Hearing
IMAGINE being able to laugh but not being able to hear the sound of other people's joy ringing in your ears.
Few of us could even contemplate such a life, much less have to cope with it each and every day of our lives.
Little Calum Geary from Ballyhooley has never heard the chatter of his three siblings or the gentle soothing voices of his doting parents Helen and Andrew.
Last year, the bubbly three-yearold was diagnosed as being profoundly deaf due to a lack of all the hearing and balance nerves linking his ears to his brain.
While his parents realise their son will never be able to hear fully, they have been given hope in the form of a device that has the potential to open the gateway to a whole new world of sound for Calum.
It was while Calum was being assessed at Dublin's Beaumont hospital that doctors told them about Auditory Brainstem Implants (ABI), a revolutionary device that has only been used on less than 140 people in the world.
It involves implanting a miniature device, a so-called ' bionic ear', that would activate the hearing part of Calum's brain, allowing him to hear sound and, in time, give him the ability to recognise human speech.
Helen and Andrew were recently given a date for the pioneering surgery at the Manchester University Hospital, one of the key ABI centres in the world.
While the initial cost of the surgery is set to be covered under the Treatment Abroad Scheme, a fundraising campaign has been established to cover the cost of post-operative care and ongoing therapy.
Helen said that both she and Andrew had been moved by the level of support they have received from friends, family and groups working with deaf people. "We recognise that Calum will always be a part of the deaf community. All that we want to be able to say in 20-years time is that we have done our best for Calum and explored every opportunity," said Helen.
"To be able to offer our son the gift of sound is something that we have dreamt about and we are truly excited at having the chance to realise that dream," she added.
To find out about more Calum's story and to donate to the Calum Trust Fund visit Calum's ABI – Hope for Hearing
