Paving that Bumpy Road...

I just received a letter from the parent of three children whose son was given a result of refer for the newborn hearing screening test. He was then sent to a level two hospital which performed the exam again and once again, refer. He has been sent to Pisa, a level three hospital, where he will have the ABR. Obviously the father is worried, he found my Italian blog and contacted me with questions and concerns.

Aside from the psychological support that I can give him, and the empathy I feel for him, I step back for a moment and smile.

Tuscany has a newborn hearing screening program and it works. You have no idea how satisfying it is to see two years of work come to fruition and to receive an email because a person in need of resources can actually find them.

A minor satisfaction compared to what's going on with Paula and daughter! Paula left this comment on the last blogpost:

"The day I became a true advocate was the day another parent looked at me with eyes widened and a slackened jaw and said, 'You mean, you went to college?' She couldn't believe that a profoundly deaf woman with 2 hearing aids (back then, 2 cochlear implants now) was able to graduate both from college and law school. I knew then that I had to figure out a way to educate other parents about the wonderful things their children with hearing loss could accomplish. And now, I am so proud that my deaf daughter is following in my footsteps to help educate others too."

And here she is!!!! Click it up!