2-year-old Karli needs a double Cochlear implant; thankfully her medical aid is willing to cover the cost of one, so her parents are crowdfunding for the second one.
Worcester, Western Cape – Johan and Vanessa Reyneke welcomed their daughter into the world two years ago and say it has been a privilege. According to her loving parents, Karli is a surprisingly bright and curious girl, with sparkling blue eyes.
Karli pushed the family up to five – including Dad, Mom, two Border Collies and Karli. Johan and Vanessa started noticing that Karli did not react to the loud barking of the dogs or any loud noises around the house. Being deaf themselves, they took her for testing, and it was confirmed that Karli had bilateral moderate-severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.
“Being Deaf ourselves, we understood perfectly well what this diagnosis entailed. As parents it was heart-breaking news; not at all what we had in mind. The road ahead wasn’t going to be easy.”
When Karli was two months old, she was fitted with tiny, pink hearing aids. Johan and Vanessa are both fluent in sign language and decided that they would teach her both the spoken word and sign language.
“From the very start we were committed to communicating in both Sign Language and in spoken word. The reward was tremendous seeing her react when we called her name, and when she indicated that she could hear the kettle boiling or a knock on the door or the sound of the door bell ringing… We were grateful and proud not only at seeing her use an ever increasing vocabulary, but also witnessing her remarkable ability to communicate in sign.”
This development changed drastically one morning when Karli was struck with a high fever. She was diagnosed with a severe middle ear infection, which led to the insertion of grommets. Karli was then fitted with even more powerful hearing aids.
“Sadly, we noticed that she could not hear any speech or environmental sounds anymore. She couldn’t hear us call her name. She couldn’t hear her own giggle…”
They were told that Cochlear implants would be the most effective option. Karli had multiple scans was confirmed as a candidate for implants. The family’s medical aid will cover the costs of one implant. As Karli is classed as profoundly deaf in both ears, the best option for her will be to have two implants done simultaneously. Johan and Vanessa decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign on Sanlam’s ADDaBIT platform to fund the second implant.
“Besides the cost of the implant itself, there is the added cost of maintenance – batteries, filters, speech therapy sessions, audiological evaluation. Karli is a fast learner. We thoroughly believe that she will respond to these implants positively.”
The family hope that people will help them reach their target. They have already received R27,900.00 towards their goal so far.
“We share our story humbly, and invite you as a partner to help give our Karli this “gift of hearing.” A gift which, without doubt, will enable our child to integrate in the larger community. Any donation to help us cover a second implant and the running costs associated would be greatly appreciated!”
If you would like to support Karli and her family, you can do so here.
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