The Surgery that Changed D’s Life
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
You might remember D’s story from earlier this year. He’s a star student in fourth grade and an amazing big brother. He loves soccer, math, and doing puzzles. But he has always struggled to hear.
I noticed it when his teammates called to him on the soccer field to no response. His teachers noticed it when he would get a confused look on his face while staring at the blackboard. D’s siblings noticed it on movie nights, when we had to turn up the sound so loud that it shook the house.
It broke all our hearts to see him struggle.
D was born with a condition called microtia. It means his ears were not fully developed and he had about 70% hearing loss.
Sachyam, Aakriti, and I spent late nights researching treatments and reaching out to experts. We learned that there was a surgery and medical device that could help this boy hear. It would restore his hearing to 90%! While we knew that this surgery and implant would be expensive, we also knew that it would change D’s life forever.
With financial aid from the Nepali government and support from our generous BlinkNow family, we raised enough for D's surgery. We ordered the device from Austria, found a hospital and a doctor in Nepal that could do this complex surgery… and last month, it happened!
Doctors at Teaching Hospital at Maharajgung in Kathmandu drilled a magnetic device into D's skull. The surgery lasted for two hours and afterwards the surgeons told us it went perfectly! D spent a few days in the hospital, eating comforting bowls of jaulo (rice, lentils, garlic, and ginger) and sleeping. Never once did he utter a complaint. We are so thankful for this amazing team of Nepali doctors and audiologists.
A few days ago, Jeremy and I took D back to Kathmandu (his wound needed a month to heal). Doctors place a receiver beside D’s right ear. He asked the doctor to change his device from black to white so that it would stand out, and he could wear it with pride! D can now hear the sound of a door closing, footsteps in the hallway, and voices chatting in the background.
When he heard for the first time, D thumped his fingers to make a noise and broke into an ear-to-ear grin.
We left the hospital, and at first it was overwhelming for D to take in all the sounds of the big city. But then, as we were walking home, I started calling his name from behind, and he could hear me. He turned around and smiled. When we got home, we put on Spider-Man and had a rest after a long day at the hospital.
Because of this surgery, the trajectory of D’s life has been changed. This holiday season, will you make a gift to BlinkNow so that other children in Nepal can access the healthcare they need? You have the power to not only fund medical interventions like this one, but provide regular doctor’s visits, glasses for reading, dental hygiene, strong nutrition, and mental health support to keep our students healthy.
Sometimes, this world is so beautiful and magical, and I feel lucky to walk this Earth with my mama heart, feeling all the feels. This was one of those days. With all my heart, thank you for being there for children like D. It means so, so much.
All my love,
Maggie