Medical Mission Trip Map
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Medical Mission Trip Stories:
Peru | China | Bulgaria
Medical Mission Trip Galleries:
Peru | China | Bulgaria
IT HAPPENED IN PERU, FEBRUARY 2004
In February 2004 the gift of hearing was given to 10 small children in Peru. 2 ½ years later, 5 of those children are learning alongside their hearing peers in a general education school program. One young boy, Rafael, is at the top of his class! The other 5 cochlear implant recipients have made measurable gains too. They are using listening and spoken language for communication and learning purposes, but for now they are still in a private oral school program for deaf/hard of hearing students. The school program has grown and improved, thanks to our efforts, as well as the efforts of the Moog Center for Deaf Education in St. Louis, Missouri. The staff at the school in Peru recognizes the importance of early intervention. They are now serving 30 infants/toddlers, and 50 preschool aged students. And because of our training efforts with Dr. Javier Rubio and Jimena Uranaga, Audiologist, the Cochlear Implant Program in Lima Peru is prepared to offer the gift of sound to these young children too! Recently Dr. Rubio implanted 6 children at Guillermo Almenara Hospital, over the course of 2 days. All of the implant surgeries went smoothly. We have truly achieved our mission of “teaching a man to fish”. And Dr. Rubio is continuing the tradition. For these 6 surgeries, a colleague of his from Colombia was present, and had an opportunity to learn more about Cochlear Implant Surgery. In addition, Dr. Rubio recently presented at the First Hispano Latino-Americano Cochlear Implant Conference, which was held earlier this summer in Mendoza Argentina. He shared the case studies of the 10 children that were implanted through our efforts in February, 2004. Dr. Rubio stated, “I want you to know that I mentioned the important contribution made by the California Ear Institute and The Let Them Hear Foundation. Your mission team made these surgeries possible!”.
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CHINA – 9 MONTHS LATER…
A team of missionaries returned to China to check the progress of the 5 individuals who received cochlear implants through our medical mission efforts in March, 2006. The team was thrilled to discover that a new Rehabilitation Center has been established, to serve deaf and hard of hearing individuals. All of the implant recipients have been receiving ongoing therapy services at the Center. The missionary team members received a warm welcome at the Rehabilitation Center, where the implant users and their family members were eagerly awaiting an opportunity to share their stories…
LuiMei is a 22 year old who lost her hearing when she was 12. She reports, “I can hear more and more since I got the cochlear implant. I can hear machines, and people talking. The first month it was just NOISE; it was not clear. I would get dizzy and suffer from headaches. I sometimes took the cochlear implant off and wanted to throw it away! But then I would feel bad, so I would put it back on…The noises scared me – even a knock at the door was frightening. It took 3 months before things got better. My teacher was very helpful. I had to learn the sound of my name all over again! Then I learned the names of my classmates. I slowly learned words and what they meant. New words were difficult to learn. It took a lot of repetition – five or six times to learn a new word. I’m doing so much better now. I can even talk on the telephone and at a crowded dinner table. Soon I think I may attend college in Beijing.”
QuiZe is 3 ½ now. He is a clever boy with an infectious smile! His parents, who are both teachers, are thrilled with his progress. His mother shared her gratitude, “Thank you very much for helping my child. He was unable to hear before. Now he is able to hear everything! We are planning on placing him in a regular school.”
ChengGuan was the youngest implant recipient. She has developed speech and language skills in Chinese that are “within normal limits” compared to those of her typically developing, hearing peers. ChenGuan’s mother has become a big supporter of the teachers at the Rehabilitation Center. Furthermore, she has become a mentor for other parents.
LuYing can now say a few words, such as “mama”, “dada” “grandma”, “thank you”, and “bye-bye”. And she is able to follow some simple commands. Her parents are delighted with her progress.
LiBing lost his hearing as a result of meningitis. Li Bing’s father prayed with his church that God would send someone to heal his son. “God found the right people and brought them to us. The team came because God wanted to help his children.” LiBing is now understanding and producing both Mandarin Chinese as well as his local dialect.
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BULGARIA
While 37 newspaper reporters and 3 television crews stood by, 2 Bulgarians received the gift of sound!
The training in Bulgaria began with a series of medical lectures regarding state-of-the-art surgical techniques. The Bulgarian hearing health professionals were then taught to correctly assess potential cochlear implant candidates. Once the candidates were selected, local physicians had the opportunity to observe and participate in surgery. 2 days later, cochlear implant audiologists from Bulgaria helped to activate and program the devices. For the first time in years, a young man heard his father calling his name. And a single mother of 4 was released from the silent world that she had been a prisoner to for over 30 years.
Following his initial hook-up, the young man who received an implant was at a loss for words. Finally he took Dr. Roberson’s hand and said, simply, “Thank you!”. Dr. Roberson responded, “God has been very good to us. It makes us happy to be able to help you.”. That’s what we do…We help people to H.E.A.R.
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