This April I am taking part in La Patrouille des Glaciers, one of the most gruelling trans-alpine ski races in Europe. Our kit consists of touring skis, backpacks, head torches, skins, ropes for crossing the glaciers and ice axes, which we are hoping we won't need! We climb on skis and foot during the 25km race from Arolla to Verbier, which should take us no more than 9 hours to complete. However, the first hurdle is to make the 3000 feet ascent out of Arolla on skins, within 1hr 40 mins, otherwise we are turned back. If we fail to complete the race I will return all your sponsorship money.
Why am I doing this? When our son Henry was born profoundly deaf, Katie and I grieved for him, for his isolation, for the fact he would never share a joke, appreciate music and for his inevitable sadness and frustration. Then we heard about an innovative approach, Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) that would teach us as a family how to teach Henry to listen and to talk. We found the UK's only Centre for AVT and visited the charity's website (www.avuk.org) to see for ourselves. We steeled ourselves to watch the clips of the children during their therapy sessions. This was how Henry might communicate. Then the first clip started and we were astounded. The children, who had hearing aids or cochlear implants, were speaking and listening normally. We telephoned the next day and, when Henry was 3 months' old and and had just had his hearing aids fitted, we drove out to Oxfordshire for our first appointment. At 14 months Henry was fitted with a cochlear implant and our work went up a gear. Henry is taught through play how to listen and to understand what he is hearing - and it is working. He is closing the gap on his hearing peers and one year after implantation was only 3 months' behind! He relishes his fortnightly sessions of AVT. The leaps he makes have often brought us to tears. He shares our jokes, he dances with us to music and is a friendly little boy brimming with confidence.
There are only 4 Certified AV Therapists currently working in the UK and they desperately need more. Henry's entry to the hearing world has been incredible. Please help other children be so lucky. Please look at this short clip of Henry in action: http://www.oxfordav.co.uk/videos/henry_blue_baloon.wmv (3.8Mb) and please also visit www.avuk.org where you will be able to see other children speaking for themseves.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
