I have been blessed to take this journey through Special Education as a Consultant for the past three decades, and to walk my path as a parent with my daughter, Krysta. It has been a long road from when she was newborn, and I was fighting by myself to get someone to believe she was deaf, to the diagnosis, to the cochlear implant, to mainstreaming her in our neighborhood school, to graduation and marriage, and motherhood, and beyond! The roller coaster of experiences and emotions we have had is the subject of many of my talks. While my experience is uniquely my own, it is my sincere hope that what my family and I have done, chosen, and learned along the way will be of help to at least one person out there walking this path.
I will continue to talk about medical and educational experiences as well as family experiences. I will share not only what Krysta and I went through, but also some from my sons’ perspectives of what it is like to be the hearing sibling of a kid with hearing loss and cochlear implants. Theirs is a very unique situation as well that is sometimes overlooked or not fully understood.
Although my personal journey began with hearing loss, it is my mission to be of service for all families, educators, and support systems for children with any and all special needs. My hope is that we can shine a light where there is darkness and provide hope when it is needed. I have had so many angels in my life in varying roles that there’s no way of knowing how my experiences will resonate and with whom.
I have two wishes as I share: one is that if I am helpful in any way, you receive the benefits with the love with which it is given. The other is that if you do not agree with my personal point of view, you will please be respectful of my journey and understand that I know it is not the same for everyone.
Here is a conclusion I came to quite a few years ago: The road we travel is curved for a reason. If it were straight, and we could see what was coming, knowing in advance all that we would face along the way, we would freeze and never take another step forward.
We must embrace the unknown and the unknowable! Keep moving forward and know that you will have what it takes when you get there. You are always stronger and more capable than you could ever know.
With Love ~ Melinda