Grayson Marais an 18-month-old boy from Port Elizabeth, was gifted a pro-bono cochlear implant, meaning he can hear for the first time in his life.
Port Elizabeth, South Africa – A team of medical specialists changed a little boys life recently. 18-month-old Grayson Marais was born with a severe hearing impediment that standard hearing aids would not help. For the last 18-months, he has lived life unable to hear any sound.
For the first time in his life, Grayson was able to hear sound. All thanks to a team of specialists that did a cochlear implant surgery pro-bono for the family. A collaboration between Netcare Greenacres Hospital, the Netcare Foundation and the Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital saw the procedure become a reality.
Ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, Dr Iain Butler, with the assistance of anaesthetist, Dr Chri,s Ngaka performed the life-changing surgery for little Grayson. Dr Butler discussed the importance of doing surgery of this nature as early as possible to ensure Grayson has a fair shot at learning proper speech and communication skills. He also discusses how the cochlear is just step one of the processes.
“The early implantation of a cochlear device is important for children such as Grayson, as it enables them to become familiar with sound as early as possible and to develop their speech and communication skills from an early age. This also shows the importance of the early detection of hearing problems in new-borns,”
“It is, however, important to note that the implantation of the cochlear device in a child born as profoundly deaf as Grayson, is only the first step, as intensive follow-up speech and listening therapies in the years to come are also critically important in their journey to hearing and speaking. Where this can be facilitated, the device enables the child’s development to follow a normal development trajectory and is positively life-changing.”
Yesterday, Grayson has his bandages removed, giving Dr Butler the chance to discuss the surgery and what it meant to him to be able to give the gift of sound.
“Grayson’s implantation procedure was completed successfully, and he was doing well when we removed his bandages and stitches at our first follow up consultation recently,”
“His cochlear device was turned on for the first time at Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital yesterday and we are hopeful that with the necessary speech and listening therapies, he will go on to hear and to be able to speak normally. My colleagues and I were thrilled to have been able to assist this delightful little boy, who always has a big smile on his face.” – Dr Iain Butler, ENT Specialist
Antoinette, Grayson’s mother, was so excited for her son. She expressed her gratitude to everyone that made the surgery possible. Cochlear implants and surgery can be a costly process so being the recipient of a pro-bono surgery will change the whole family’s life. Grayson now has the chance to learn to speak, a crucial skill for children of his age.
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“My family and I are also thankful to audiologist, Babalwa Potelwa at Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital who first detected Grayson’s hearing problem and who has been exceptionally supportive throughout,” – Antoinette Marais
Now that the cochlear has been implanted, it will detect signals from the environment, send them directly to the auditory nerve and then on to the brain where understanding the sound will take place.
“A child such as Grayson, who has not heard sound in his life before, can become overwhelmed when the device is first turned on. For this reason, we start off using a very low ‘volume’. Then, as the child becomes more familiar with hearing these new sounds from the environment, the ‘volume’ is turned up gradually over a number of weeks.” – Dr Iain Butler
Dr Butler is one of many private practitioners that donates his skills and time to alleviate need for assistance in the state health sector. He was also the doctor that performed the very same surgery on Grayson’s brother last year.
“As private practitioners, we look to link up with the state health sector and non-governmental organisations at least a couple of times every year to assist in addressing the huge need among underprivileged children who are born deaf for appropriate medical intervention.
“In fact, Dr Retief and I performed a cochlear procedure on Grayson’s brother a year ago and he has responded well to the treatment,” says Dr Butler. It is great for us to be able to team up with Netcare Greenacres Hospital and the Netcare Foundation on such initiatives that make a meaningful and long-term difference in the lives of children.”
This is a heartwarming story that has left us smiling. We are grateful for doctors like Iain Butler and the teams he works with as well as organisations like the Netcare Foundation, which gives the opportunity for South Africans to access expensive surgeries.
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