From Mother to Daughter: Any Regrets?

 

Posted by one of the moms of the Italian forum...

 MOM

At least once in our lives, we have found ourselves eye to eye with one of those stuffed animals dropped on our table at a restaurant by a Deaf individual with a sign language card and a piece of paper that says: "I am Deaf, please buy this stuffed animal. Thank you."

When this would happen to me with my Deaf baby Alice sitting by my side at that table, my heart would break and my thoughts would drift towards her future leaving me with doubts and uncertainties regarding the choices I had made and would still have to make. I thought, fortunately, the cochlear implant exists and my child will not grow up isolated from a world filled with sounds...

Then, however, I would think to myself: and if one day she hates me for having made that difficult choice to go forward with a cochlear implant that has enabled her to hear through a lot of hard work....and if she hates me because her entire life will be an uphill battle?  

Last night at the restaurant I relived that same scene from many years ago..........yet this time, sitting in front of me was my grown up daughter. She was watching me and said,

DAUGHTER

"What's the matter Mom? You just got really sad..."

I explained to her my feelings and fears that I still have for her and her future. She looked me straight in the eyes and said: 

"What daughter could hate a mother who chose to give her wings so that she could fly higher?????"

I posted this here to try to reassure all of the mothers of newly diagnosed babies who find themselves in the delicate position of having to make difficult decisions for the future of their babies....

-M.M. Rossi