Letter from the Surgeon

Hello. My name is Jordan M Brough. I am 3 years old. I have a profound hearing impairment.

This is my story...
It has been said that I was in quite a hurry to enter this world…. I was born at 28 weeks at the Brenthurst Clinic, on 19 April 1999, weighting in at a mere 1.2 kilograms and my head was severely bruised right down to my neck. For the first 6 weeks of my life I lay in the Neo-Natal ICU ward. My parents had not yet had the opportunity to hold me as I was attached to the necessary life support machines in order to keep me alive. My mother would sit along side my hospital bed all day, and long hours into the night talking to me, touching me and praying for me. With faith and all the prayers from my loving family and my family members we managed to over come our first hurdle ……

At four months old my parents noticed that there was something special about me. ….. I did not respond to noise or any sounds. This came as a shock to my parents, and after numerous tests and visits to the Johannesburg General Hospital it was established that I was born with a profound bilateral sensory neural deafness. This means that I cannot hear, "I am deaf".

This was further established by means of various tests and an ABR test. I had my first CAT scan when I was just 7 months old and this was to establish whether I was a candidate for a Cochlear Implant.

The CAT scan was a success and proved that I was indeed a Cochlear Candidate.

The long road that lay ahead for my mommy and daddy has just begun… I had more tests done in order to find a set of hearing aids that were most suitable for me. I received my first pair of hearing aids when I was just 8 months old. These hearing aids are one of the most powerful on the market, BUT cannot help me achieve the level of hearing that is needed in order for me to hear and learn how to speak.

I'm now 3yrs old a very vibrant and a very perceptive little boy. I attend nursery school at St. Vincent's School for the Deaf.

We are trying to raise enough money in order for me to be able to have this big operation called a 'Cochlear Implant'.

A Cochlear Implant would enable me to hear properly and later, thereafter learn how to speak.

Please help!

Love Jordan M Brough.