{"id":18903,"date":"2012-05-30T15:58:49","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T20:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=18903"},"modified":"2012-05-30T17:02:40","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T22:02:40","slug":"texas-girls-video-diary-chronicles-her-struggle-to-hear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/05\/30\/texas-girls-video-diary-chronicles-her-struggle-to-hear\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas girl’s video diary chronicles her struggle to hear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas girl’s video diary chronicles her struggle to hear<\/strong><\/p>\n

by JASON WHITELY<\/p>\n

WFAA<\/p>\n

May 24, 2012 at 8:16 AM<\/p>\n

DALLAS \u2014 It’s a very expensive procedure, but among modern medical
\nmiracles, the cochlear implant has become another routine surgery.<\/p>\n

Don’t underestimate what the life-changing device means to 10-year-old
\nSammie Hicks.<\/p>\n

“She doesn’t let anything hold her back… anything! Which is great,”
\nsaid Jen Hicks, Sammie’s mother.<\/p>\n

The Collin County girl was born with a genetic mutation in her ears.
\nShe was fitted with hearing aids at 19 months, then learned to read
\nlips after what was left of her hearing finally faded.<\/p>\n

“I hope they learn that just because you’re deaf, doesn’t mean you
\ncan’t go and do the things you want to do like most of the other deaf
\npeople,” Sammie said.<\/p>\n

That’s one reason she started keeping a video diary.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/wunderlife.wordpress.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

When insurance agreed to buy her a cochlear implant \u2014 a “bionic ear” \u2014
\nSammie wanted friends and family to understand her struggle to hear
\nfirst-hand.<\/p>\n

“I’m excited for it,” she said in one video diary clip. “Still,
\nnervous.”<\/p>\n

Surgery earlier this month was simple. But what happened next was
\nheartbreaking.<\/p>\n

Another video clip from her diary shows Sammie jump when the
\naudiologist activates the implant.<\/p>\n

Then the first thing she hears? Her own breathing.<\/p>\n

“It sounds weird,” she told the audiologist. “Hey! I sound weird.”<\/p>\n

It was an exciting, yet emotional, moment.<\/p>\n

Seconds later, Sammie brings her hands up to cover her face as she
\ntears up.<\/p>\n

“I started to cry because it was overwhelming,” Sammie said. “I had no
\nidea what the sounds were.”<\/p>\n

“My heart just stopped,” Jen Hicks remembered about the moment. “I
\ncan’t really put into words what it felt like hearing those little
\nthings we never thought she’d be able to hear.”<\/p>\n

“I asked her why she cried,” her father, Brian Hicks, said. “She said,
\n‘It was overwhelming. But the reason I really cried? I couldn’t believe
\nall the stuff I was missing.'”<\/p>\n

No one really knows what Sammie’s life sounds like now.<\/p>\n

“The teacher sounded like a robot \u2014 like every voice does,” Sammie
\nexplained on one recent entry to her video diary.<\/p>\n

Cochlear implants are not cheap.<\/p>\n

The device alone costs about $27,000. Add surgery and therapy, and it
\nwill cost more than $120,000.<\/p>\n

That’s just to provide access to sound. Each patient will then progress
\ndifferently with the devices.<\/p>\n

“This is what she has,” said her physician, Dr. Paul Bauer, as he held
\nup the device.<\/p>\n

It does what her ears cannot.<\/p>\n

“Inside of your inner ear are millions of microscopic hairs that turn
\nthe nerves on and off, in very simple terms,” Bauer said. “And what a
\ncochlear implant is trying to do, is replace those hairs.”<\/p>\n

Sammie’s cochlear implant is less than a month old.<\/p>\n

Absorbing so many sounds now is exhausting for her, Brian explained.<\/p>\n

But already Sammie has adapted, improved her speech, and still adds to
\nthat video diary \u2014 hoping it helps others appreciate what so many take
\nfor granted.<\/p>\n

E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.kvue.com\/news\/Girls-video-diary-chronicles-<\/wbr>her-struggle-to-hear-<\/wbr>153593115.html<\/wbr><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas girl’s video diary chronicles her struggle to hear by JASON WHITELY WFAA May 24, 2012 at 8:16 AM DALLAS \u2014 It’s a very expensive procedure, but among modern medical miracles, the cochlear implant has become another routine surgery. Don’t…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4621,14013,1554,7054,19,14014,3249,14008,14011,14012,11723,17,14010,14009,37],"class_list":["post-18903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-article","tag-brian-hicks","tag-cochlear-implant","tag-collin-county","tag-dallas-dfw","tag-dr-paul-bauer","tag-hearing-aids","tag-jason-whitely","tag-jen-hicks","tag-sammie-hicks","tag-surgery","tag-texas","tag-video-diary","tag-wfaa","tag-wordpress"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4UT","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27148,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/04\/23\/experimental-brain-surgery-may-help-deaf-frisco-girl-hear\/","url_meta":{"origin":18903,"position":0},"title":"Experimental brain surgery may help deaf Frisco girl hear","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Experimental brain surgery may help deaf Frisco girl hear by JANET ST. 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Born deaf for unknown reasons, Jiya's parents wanted her to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9188,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/02\/03\/kids-with-cochlear-implants-more-confident-finds-study\/","url_meta":{"origin":18903,"position":1},"title":"Kids with cochlear implants more confident, finds study","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Kids with cochlear implants more confident, finds study by Pankhuri Kapoor - February 2, 2010 Dallas, Texas, February 2 -- The findings of a latest research prove that deaf kids with cochlear implants have as high a quality of life as kids who have normal hearing. Researchers from the Dallas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28502,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/09\/04\/jacksons-journey-good-signs-on-east-texas-boys-hearing-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":18903,"position":2},"title":"Jackson’s Journey: ‘Good signs’ on East Texas boy’s ‘Hearing Day’","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Jackson's Journey: 'Good signs' on East Texas boy's 'Hearing Day' August 26, 2014 By KSLA Staff DALLAS, TX (KSLA) - An East Texas boy has taken a major step toward a hearing life, now that the cochlear implant he received last month has been turned on. Doctors at the Callier\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17152,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/01\/11\/texan-known-as-groundbreaker-in-overcoming-hearing-loss\/","url_meta":{"origin":18903,"position":3},"title":"Texan Known as Groundbreaker in Overcoming Hearing Loss","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Texan Known as Groundbreaker in Overcoming Hearing Loss January 4, 2012 Posted by ellen Texas native Teri Wathen never thought of her actions as being groundbreaking. But the woman\u2019s drive to get her own cochlear implant set things in motion for numerous others who also needed the life-changing technology. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17122,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/01\/10\/cochlear-implant-health-seminar-12112-houston\/","url_meta":{"origin":18903,"position":4},"title":"Cochlear Implant Health Seminar 1\/21\/12 – Houston","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Cochlear Implant Health Seminar 1\/21\/12 - Houston This is an article about a Cochlear Implant recipient (Teri Wathen) and free Hearing Health Seminar http:\/\/www.hearinghealthseminar.com\/2012\/01\/texan-groundbreaker\/ Lois Johnson, Director HLAA Texas State Office http:\/\/www.hearingloss.org email: ettalois@sbcglobal.net The Hearing Health Seminar Saturday January 21, 2012 Marriott Westchase 2900 Briarpark Drive Houston, Texas 77042\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24363,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/08\/20\/cross-country-cyclist-visits-rangers-ballpark-on-quest-to-benefit-hearing-impaired\/","url_meta":{"origin":18903,"position":5},"title":"Cross-country cyclist visits Rangers Ballpark on quest to benefit hearing impaired","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Cross-country cyclist visits Rangers Ballpark on quest to benefit hearing impaired by WFAA August 18, 2013 ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 Visiting all 30 Major League ballparks sounds like a dream to baseball fans, but it's a mission for one man. Jacob Landis rode into Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Saturday, the 24th\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18903"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18914,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18903\/revisions\/18914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}