Emma and Malcolm of A4G Chartered Accountants will be running the Great North Run for National Deaf Children’s Society. This is Emma’s story of why they have chosen this charity:

“At birth my daughter Florence failed her hearing test. We weren’t too concerned as it’s fairly normal for C-section babies too and we’d been here before and all was fine. 

At 4 weeks old, whilst sat in a room listening to louder and louder sounds being played and watching a screen showing barely any reaction, it soon dawned on me, that this wasn’t just a formality, but a very harsh reality. 

I’m very aware this isn’t by any means the worst thing for my child, but as an adult who has never had any experience of deaf people, the lives they live and the challenges they face, I found myself feeling massive inadequate as a parent. All the dreams of what my child’s future would look like shattered. 

At 10 weeks old, Florence received her first hearing aids. At 2, we realised these weren’t strong enough and her hearing was worse than first thought. To give her the best chance at speech, we needed to do more. 

A few months before she turned 3, she had cochlear implants fitted and we are in the process of fine tuning her hearing. And there are already a few words coming! 

She is an absolute hero in my eyes - watching everything she is overcoming (deafness isn’t her only battle). She’s trained me, learnt to read my body language and facial expressions - but most of all, she’s shown me it’s okay and she’s very happy with her world. 

The support of the NDCS has been a godsend in what can be a very lonely and emotionally hard time for parents. It’s allowed me insight into other people’s journeys, calmed my fears of future worries and shown me other amazing children. This is just my small attempt to help support them back.”