Incoming Ann Arbor Skyline High freshman takes long journey to recover hearing
The Sunday Detroit Free Press revisits the story of a 14 year-old Ypsilanti girl a decade after undergoing a controversial surgery to install a hearing implant to correct hearing loss that resulted from medical treatment to keep her alive after being born 14 weeks premature.
Bryana Hargrow will be a freshman this fall at Skyline High School. She recently opted to have a second cochlear implant — electrodes implanted in the inner ear and connected to hardware around the back of the head and ear — after having her first implanted when she was just 19 months old.
Hargrow was born weighing just 1 pound, 11 ounces and was given an antibiotic called gentamicin to ward off infections following steroid treatment. One possible side affect of the drug is permanent hearing loss. Doctors first noticed her difficulty with hearing at around 8 or 9 months of age.
Some advocates for the deaf object to the implants, saying they imply there's something wrong with deaf people and are implanted in infants who can't yet make their own choices. Hargrow's mother, Carlotta Gore, said she always wanted her daughter to be independent.
Read the Freep story here.
Comments
LDR
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 5 p.m.
Well. As an also hearing impaired person from childhood, I can say for certain that none of the commenters here so far have much respect for us. It's our decision. Anyone can turn off their implants and choose to use ASL or lip-reading -- but you can not choose to go back and properly train an infant's brain! Clearly none of you actually understand the science and child development behind these decisions. You should at least read the original Freep article before commenting!
pseudo
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 11:51 a.m.
second hmmm - "Some advocates for the deaf object to the implants, saying they imply there's something wrong with deaf people and are implanted in infants who can't yet make their own choices. Hargrow's mother, Carlotta Gore, said she always wanted her daughter to be independent." I am pretty sure you didn't mean to imply that Bryana wouldn't be independent without her implants. There are far too many VERY independent hearing impaired people living well without implants to have those two sentences make any sense. That being said, I applaud Bryana for making a strong individual decision about her body and life. Go get 'em!!
ThinkingOne
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 3:47 p.m.
'I am pretty sure you didn't mean to imply that Bryana wouldn't be independent without her implants.' Who is your 'you'? The mother said it; annarbor.com reported it. 'Hargrow's mother, Carlotta Gore, said she always wanted her daughter to be independent.' Are you criticizing the mother's choice or the reporters decision to relay that choice?
pseudo
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 11:46 a.m.
hhmmm, couldn't help but notice...Ypsilanti Girl, Skyline freshman.
ThinkingOne
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 3:41 p.m.
Also, I believe that employees of a school district may enroll their children in that district, regardless of schools-of-choice.
TryingToBeObjective
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 2:27 p.m.
There are many other students at Skyline that live outside Ann Arbor, in Ypsi Twp, etc. they don't check anything. Anyone can enter the lottery. Way before this coming year. When you can't fill your lottery, you "overlook" those issues. Just use a "friends" address. I believe when Bryana was younger she was assigned to hearing impaired classrooms, and then main streamed with the general population. Not sure if there are hearing impaired classrooms at Skyline, (or if she's still in one), but Bryana has been in other Ann Arbor Schools when she was younger.
PhillyCheeseSteak
Mon, Jul 1, 2013 : 1:09 p.m.
Beginning fall 2013, Skyline H.S. is a School of Choice for students outside of the AAPS district, the first and only Ann Arbor high school to allow students outside the district.
Dog Guy
Sun, Jun 30, 2013 : 9:55 p.m.
And some other advocates for the deaf object to the implants because deafness is their own job security.