Teamwork To Build Awareness For Pediatric Hearing Loss
Click to watch Charlotte share a little about how cochlear implants and hearing aids can help deaf and hard of hearing kids learn to listen and speak!
Family Concert Fun… And did I mention local wine?!
This past weekend in Bridgewater, Virginia, at Bluestone Vineyards, our Virginia chapter of AG Bell hosted a fun family event to help build awareness of pediatric hearing loss and the option for kids to access sound through cochlear implants.
We had booths from Cochlear and American Cochlear Implant Alliance. They were available to answer questions and offer support. (I’m pretty sure my kids thought they were just a toy store giving away cool stuff… from cups to towels and pop sockets for phones!). I had my four kiddos plus two friends of Lola and Ollie, and we met our awesome neighbors from Richmond, who also have a son with cochlear implants.
A great band called Chamomile & Whiskey played country/blue grass music, while people ate tasty food from a local BBQ food truck, ice cream truck and sipped delicious wine from Bluestone Vineyards (well, the adults did… kids git fresh lemonade and sodas!).
Kids ran around paying soccer, adults chatted and the day was enjoyed by all. I must be honest that my very favorite part was talking Lola, my 14-year-old, into polka dancing with me. I grew up country and western dancing at Garner State Park during our summer vacations to our Frio River house in Concan, Texas. I’d bring 3 girl friends and we’d tube the Frio by day and dance under the stars to the songs of the old Juke Box by night. GREAT MEMORIES - thanks Mom and Dad for creating the experiences for us!
Enjoy some pictures from the event!
Along with some event pics, I also shared our Sunday adventure at Shenandoah National Park… Hiking with two moms and 8 kids. Take that nature!! We decided to rent an AirBnB to make the most of the time and took a 2+ mile hike wit all the kids on our way back to RVA. So fun! (Even if I had to drag Charlotte and Emma back u the mountain to return to the car - worth it!)
**bonus**
One extra cool part of the event is when a beautiful woman walked over to me and said, “Are you Leah?” I was like, “Yes…” She gave me a big hug and introduced herself as Sarah Miracle (Best last name ever!). We had crossed paths on Instagram and hoped to one day meet. And there we were!! Her daughter, Savannah, is below, 4th from the left.
Thank you magical journey of being a deaf and hard of hearing parent… you bring me new experiences and wonderful new humans all the time.
Violet, Emma, Charlotte and Savannah enjoy the band