A bright start for Indianna and Mackenzie

“Giving my children a bright start, where there is nothing they can’t do, is my hope for my daughter's futures”.

Sharing the hearing journey of her two girls, seven-year-old Indianna (Indi) and five-year-old Mackenzie (Kenzi) is mum, Naomi.

"Being supported by an Auditory Verbal Therapist at Can:Do 4Kids has given me useful tools and activities to do with my girls to expand their vocabulary and auditory comprehension.

Typically hearing children start to hear while still inside the womb. As babies and toddlers, they are overhearing conversations and learning without knowing it.

For my girls, they have to try really hard to learn new words and understand what they mean. They missed out on the first crucial developmental stage when it comes to hearing. That is why intense verbal therapy is so important for children with hearing loss.

My babies were both born with Waardenburg syndrome. Not something you hear every day – and in fact only 1 in 40,000 babies are born with it.

It runs on the girls fathers side. I was prepared that they may have a mild hearing loss, however for some reason it never occurred to me they may be profoundly deaf.

Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic conditions that can cause hearing loss and changes in colouring (pigmentation) of the hair, skin, and eyes. Moderate to profound hearing loss can occur in one or both ears.

Hearing that our second born also had Waardenbug sydnrome, was equally devastating if not more so, as we knew by then of the journey ahead. The first year in life, they had so many appointments. Blood tests, CT scans, MRI’s, eye and heart checks and so much more. Both girls had hearing aids at 6 weeks and after multiple tests over months it was determined they were candidates for cochlear implants. They were implanted at 11 months old. Indi’s surgery was a long 7 hours and Mackenzie’s 5 hours.

Hearing fatigue is a big thing for my girls. Spending all day with their processors on is really exhausting. Hearing doesn’t come naturally to them so they are really focused and concentrating at all times to hear, process, understand and then respond to what they are hearing.

Without Molly, I can't even imagine that they would be talking at all.

When we first started seeing her, Indi was two and had absolutely no vocabulary and hardly babbled. Kenzie was a newborn and it wasn’t until their cochlear mappings were optimised and lots of intense therapy, that they began to show tremendous progress. They both still have a long way to go, and closing the gap between their hearing age and actual age is going to take a lot of effort, time, resilience and determination.

My girls have gone through more than most will in a lifetime, but they prove time and time again just how incredible they are. Although not easy, I wouldn’t change this journey as we have met some absolutely incredible people along the way that will always be special to us.”

Your generosity has lit up the lives of Indianna and Mackenzie, making it possible for them to shine brighter.

But there are still more families who need our help. Join us in making a difference by filling out the enclosed supporter form and becoming a part of the Can:Do 4Kids family.