Ladies, it’s Friday and because it’s Friday, we figured we’d share a lovely, uplifting, feel-good story about one of the bravest little boys in all of Ireland.
The Irish Independent reports that little Calum Geary has heard sounds for the first time in his life, thanks to a revolutionary bit of technology that has been implanted in his brain.
The three year old was born with Cochlear Nerve Aplasia, a syndrome which means that he was born without the special nerves needed to connect his ears to the hearing part of his brain. Last February, Calum had a ‘bionic’ hearing device (which is a tiny computer chip) implanted at Manchester University Hospital.
Calum’s implant was tested in May, but he has only started to show signs of being able to hear over the past fortnight. At present, Calum is attending a top speech therapy clinic in the United States to help him learn how to use his implant.
“The course went beyond all of our expectations – we have come as a whole family, from a status of a pre-lingual child with no definite signs of hearing, to a much more confident child with the very first signs of hearing,” said Calum’s dad, Andrew, speaking to the Irish Independent.
“We are all delighted – it is beyond our wildest dreams. We just cannot say how much we appreciate all the people who have helped Calum – the people who sent messages of support, cards, gifts and who helped with the fundraising,” added Andrew.
So what’s next for little Calum? Well, he will have to return to the prestigious John Tracy Clinic in California in the future for further speech therapy and training, but aside from that he is progressing rapidly.
What a little legend, right? Best of luck Calum, we wish you a speedy recovery and all the best for the future.
