Joshua
Dated: 05/05/2011

Imagine being told that your child is profoundly deaf. What sort of a life will they have?

This is what happened to two and a half-year-old Joshua Shaw of Harrogate, YCIS's 500th patient.

Joshua, who attends a local nursery school, underwent the cochlear implant procedure on his right ear in January, and the device was activated six weeks after the operation. Joshua came into the world via an emergency caesarean section following a very long labour for Mum Andrea. Shortly after his birth, he had difficulty breathing and developed a severe chest infection as a result. Joshua spent some time in the special care baby unit where he had a routine hearing test, which he failed.

"We thought this was probably due to his immediate health problems," said Andrea. "But a few weeks later he had more hearing tests which he also failed. We do not really know why Joshua is deaf, and we will probably never know for sure, but it might be due to his breathing problems when he was born or as a result of a certain type of antibiotic he had to take.

"Joshua was originally fitted with bilateral hearing aids and, initially, we thought this would be adequate but further tests revealed that his hearing was worse than we would have expected. He went for an assessment which showed that he also had glue ear so he initially had grommets inserted for draining the middle ears.

"Another assessment revealed that Joshua was suitable for a cochlear implant.

"It was hard to make the decision about the surgery because it is a significant operation. But other parents who I was put in touch with said it was the best thing they had ever had done for their children. It was good that I got the chance to talk to other Mums and Dads. Everything was explained to us fully at the hospital prior to the surgery and we even had the opportunity to choose which implant and which colour he had. The actual procedure turned out to be very straightforward and Joshua was in the play room and running up and down the ward the following morning.

"Joshua is absolutely brilliant and the change in him is enormous. He has been transformed into a confident little boy. Previously, Joshua was very clingy when he went to nursery and could not stay focused, even on things he enjoyed.

"Now things are fantastic, Joshua has started to speak and is copying and mimicking. He is quite a show off with his cochlear implant and is quite proud about it.

"I would like to reassure other parents about this procedure, and I have been one hundred percent impressed by the work of YCIS."