A few weeks ago we were fortunate to attend the Alexander Graham Bell Association Conference in Orlando. It was fantastic. We were surrounded with kids and adults with Cochlear Implants and hearing aids and the teachers and audiologists who support them.
We attended fabulous educational sessions, like stem cell research, working memory strategies and LENA research studies, as well as volunteered as Bionic Ear Association Mentors on behalf of our Cochlear Implant manufacturer Advanced Bionics.
In Advanced Bionics' booth, we were able to talk to families and professionals about our hearing journey. We were able to give back and talk face-to-face about something we feel so passionate about. We were also able to dream about what will be available for Lily in the future.
While this was only the second time that we attended this conference, it seemed like we saw many old friends. There were many returning families with young children like Lily, as well as teachers from the Moog center, staff from AB, thought leaders and researchers like Carol Flexer and icons in the AG Bell/Oral world.
We also saw Lee Woodfruff, wife of the ABC news anchor Bob Woodruff who suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury when he was covering the war in Iraq. Lee didn't however talk about her husband at this event. Rather, she focused on her daughter who has a hearing loss. She told us the story of her daughter's diagnosis to receiving hearing aids, all the therapy and stress in between, and how her daughter is doing today. It was such a similar story to so many in the crowd, that I think most of the 1500+ people in attendance were in tears. It was quite moving.
Her book, Perfectly Imperfect (see it posted in the left column) is a great read full of stories and journeys of a wife and mother facing dozens of challenges along the way.
We returned home feeling rejuvenated and excited about continuing with Lily's hearing journey. More posts to come with details of the sessions and our fun time at Disney.
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