Liubov Wolowik

We would like to share the history of our "golden ears". In our family in the middle of the snowy January, a daughter was born. She was given the name Vlada, based on her mood for life. My daughter was a long-awaited child, ordinary childbirth, no problems. It was 6 months and we began to notice a soft reaction to the sounds. Well, I remember the day of June 30, 2017, when doctors diagnosed deafness for my child. Doctors explain it is deaf-dumb (this is analogous form of psychological help in our country). Until the end, having not believed it, in September in a children's clinic in Nice, the diagnosis was confirmed.

Fortunately, there are methods of hearing aids, but the cost of such an implant was from 25 thousand euros without surgery. There was a little time, so as not to miss the opportunity to learn to hear, speak and conduct dialogue, it is urgent to make an implantation. Confusion and disappointment quickly gave way to finding solutions. In two months, we received answers from European clinics and met with Dr. Monika Lehnhardt and the coordinator of Foundation Lyubov Volovik. Subsequently, with their help, as well as families and colleagues, we made cochlear implantation in Nice in March 2018. And in a few months, Vlada began to grow swiftly into the world of sounds and to please the people around with their conversation. Of course, her mother-teacher, along with the surdo pedagogue Nadiya, works a lot to get an excellent result. In January 2019, Vlada received a second implant and will soon be heard fully.

I can not say thank to the local authorities. In Ukraine, in order to carry out implantation of more than 450 children, more than 150 children are waiting for replacement, there are no training and service programs for such people. Many volunteers try to help, but at the country level, the Ministry of Health for two years can not appoint a representative to a working group to address the problems of people with hearing impairments. The ministry seems to be interested only in who will receive a tender for the purchase of implants. And in Kyiv, the Department of Health in the best practices of the past tries to counteract the parents' attempts to improve the service for people with hearing problems and to organize social control.

with best regards,

father of Vlada, Aleksander P.