By Megan Goncher

A Midwestern girl, Megan Goncher is a proud Auntie to 3 1/2-year-old Nicolette and 1 1/2-year-old Will. Megan has a successful green cleaning business that allows her to adjust to all situations as a deaf person with a cochlear implant and prepare to continue her education. She is writing her first children’s book to help kids understand people with disabilities and give children with disabilities encouragement. She loves the St. Louis Cardinals, shoes, shopping, and most of all, being an auntie. Megan resides in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

February 6, 2009 was one of the most joyous days for my sister, her husband, and our entire family! My niece, Nicolette, was born, and I was now an auntie! A role my heart had long desired for, my dream had come true. I could not wait to hear her laugh, cry and tell me her very own dreams! These dreams of mine were looking more and more unattainable – six months prior I had gone completely deaf. Living with severe hearing loss my entire life, I was sure this was something that wouldn’t happen until later in my life, but as we know – life just happens.

For the first two years of Nicolette’s life, I was truly learning how to live as a deaf person. Not only for my own life, but for her as well, I wanted to fulfill my role of being an auntie to the fullest.

After over 18 months of intensive doctor appointments and therapies and a number of surgeries, we finally found the solution that would give me the ability to hear. It is a device that provides individuals with significant hearing loss the availability to hear. It is incredible. When my doctor informed me that I was a candidate, I had no idea what this meant for me, but trusting him and his team, I knew it meant big things for my future.

I talked about my niece, Nicolette, all the time and when I asked what kind of hearing I would have after I was implanted and activated, my surgeon said, “You will be able to HEAR everything Nicolette says and does, even from other rooms, among everything else in the world.” Still a little uncertain, I felt I had no choice but to go ahead with this journey. What an incredible ride it has been so far.

A is for Activated!

May 16, 2011 I was entering Barnes Jewish hospital in St. Louis, Missouri for my Big Day. I was about to become a cochlear implant recipient, and my life and role as an auntie was going to change entirely. A month later, I was “activated.” My speech processor was turned on so that I could begin the therapy of learning to understand what I was hearing. The sound was clear, but everyone sounded like chipmunks, typical for the brain when re-learning voice. It didn’t matter to me. I could hear.

When I got home from activation, I drove to my sister’s house to see Nicolette. I walked in and immediately HEARD this little voice from afar. It was Nicolette, playing in her bedroom. The tears rolled as I began to search for her. When I found her, she looked up and said, “Hi, A!” I was speechless. For two years, all I had wanted was to hear her little chipmunk voice over and over again. And now, I could.

It’s been a year since I first was activated. Since then, my sister has had a baby boy. I am now a proud auntie of two little chipmunks. With my nephew, Will, I’ve been able to hear his first cry, laugh, and even his first words – things I missed out on with Nicolette. I’ve completed therapy, and voices no longer sound strange; they sound “normal” and real. I get to babysit these joyful children more than ever, and Nicolette now has “sleepovers” at my house. My heart is swollen with appreciation and love. I have gone from 4% hearing to 92% hearing overall – a miracle to me. The gratitude I have for the technology of the cochlear implant and the care of the medical team who helped make it happen is immeasurable. I truly cannot express how thankful I am.

Since all of this, my life has changed; and I am now able to serve others who are living deaf and considering a cochlear implant. I work as a Volunteer Advocate for Cochlear Americas, the company that makes implants like the one I have so that I may walk with other deaf individuals and their families on their journey to hear. Just like I did, they are exploring if the hearing world is for them. They dream of hearing the precious laughs and spoken dreams of the children and people in their lives. I get to know, share my experience, and help others in their emotional and incredible, miraculous journey to hearing.

Photo: Courtesy of Megan Goncher
Published: May 29, 2012