All parents would find their children’s first “ma ma” to be very sweet and moving. Due to a hearing disability, after waiting for three years and after an operation, “Jing Wei” was finally able to say clearly his first “ma ma”. That moment, all emotions swelled up at the same time…heartache, worries, hope and the joy of discovering the success of the operation caused tears to fall incessantly. I secretly swallowed and whispered a “thank you”, to all who have helped Jing Wei - the doctors, the teachers, Ms Lee the speech therapist who was standing in front of me and most importantly my baby Jing Wei.

It’s hard being a parent. If children suffer from any kind of illnesses, a parent’s responsibility is even greater and more difficult. However, it also shows our values – how important are our roles! Since God has chosen us to look after his group of special children, that’s proof that we have the ability to bring a life filled with happiness and love. I sincerely say to the parents of such children, “Don’t underestimate yourselves, your children are indeed blessed.”

Society progresses at an astronomical speed, especially the advances in medical technology in recent years which offer great help to patients. An example is cochlear implant’s contribution to those who suffer from severe hearing loss.

Prior to the implant, I was insensitive to the noise surrounding me. After the implant, and beginning with the selection of an hearing aid, I could hear the tiny laughter of the outside world. It’s an indescribable joy I was experiencing. Hopefully, through language training, my hearing will further improve. I also hope that others who find themselves in a similar situation as I was would also be able to find a new life like I have, enjoying the singing of the birds and re-merging into society.

One two three; three two one; one two three four five six seven…”, a simple children’s song which, undoubtedly, many people could sing during their childhood. However, for children with congenital hearing problems, it is difficult enough trying to talk, let alone trying to sing. Fortunately, “Ga Hei” – my child – not only could speak and hear after his cochlear implant, but he could also sing with other children. Although it was more time-consuming teaching him to sing - teaching him word by word and correcting his pronunciation of each word and repeating numerous times; when he sang fluently on his own, I really do not know how to describe the joy I felt.

Now, Ga Hei attends school and plays with other children. There are really no differences between them, except for people who are unfamiliar with cochlear implant, they would look at Ga Hei’s hearing aid with curiosity and ask me what it was. One time an elderly man, after seeing Ga Hei with the hearing aid and thinking that it was a Walkman, gave me a scolding.

We hope that more people would understand the needs of children like Ga Hei, approaching them with a positive and friendly attitude.