giving back

Lucas is not thriving right now just because he got a cochlear implant. His access to any sound at all is made possible solely through the miracle of the cochlear implant, but his ability to discriminate that sound and mimic what he hears through speech is all thanks to the hours upon hours of therapy he has participated in.

Last year I was asked to be my school district's United Way representative, because Lucas receives services from United Way funded agencies. I was thrilled to share his story, and share the miracle of the cochlear implant. I wanted to show people that deaf children really can listen and speak, and what early identification and aggressive intervention does for young children. Lucas accompanied me to many district faculty meetings, but couldn't come to all, so I made this video to chronicle his journey.

Our local United Way agency caught wind of this video and asked if Lucas could be the star of this year's campaign video. We were really happy to continue to share his story with an even broader audience this year - the whole county. It's been really fun meeting strangers who recognize Lucas, and hearing from friends who have seen Lucas's video. One friend in another school district told me that they exceeded their donation goal for this year, thanks in part to Lucas's story.

Lucas is my miracle baby. He is an inspiration. He has changed my life. I hope his story touches yours.