Enzo, a gift of sound: 2015

Monday, December 28, 2015

Merry Christmas and Happy 2016!

A lot of wonderful blessings have poured in our lives this year especially to my baby Enzo who needed it most. We will be forever grateful to our family, friends and friends of our friends who reached out to support the activities we've put up to help raise funds for Enzo's impending cochlear implantation.

Our first target for the operation should have happened last September. Unfortunately, we weren't able to proceed because of the high cost of the cochlear implants, doctor's fee and hospitalization bill. As a mother, I'd like to give the best care that I can provide to my son this is why I opted to take this path and asked for your support for the fundraiser.

We've managed to organize several mountaineering events - DAYO, Hulugan Falls and the rappelling for a cause in Buruwisan; the GiveForward.com fundraiser put up by a close friend; and to several individuals who weren't present in the activities but didn't forget to share their blessings.

The amount needed for Enzo's cochlear implantation is P985,000. This includes the Concierto Implant from MED-EL, doctor's professional fee and the overall hospitalization bill. So far, we've only managed to raise P125,855 still far from our goal yet a modest turnout since we started the fundraiser four months ago.

I fervently pray to the Lord that Enzo will soon receive the gift of sound within the first quarter of 2016. We are racing against time since this is the best age when he can have the operation and be able to hear again.

Again, thank you for your genuine support. Belated Merry Christmas!

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

I am mommy's super hero!

December 25, 2015

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Imagine World Without Sound: Rappelling for a Cause

Mt. Romelo (Buruwisan), Sinoloan, Famy, Laguna

Thank you to Nature Adventist Questers for providing the logistics and rope works for this activity.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

A Thank You Note (Batch II)

Source: Hubpages.com

Thank you for sharing your blessings to Enzo.

Dayo Outdoor Group
Basecamp Outdoor Laguna
Donabel Santos
Neil Biadora
Roy Limbaga
Jhun Bucod
Icey Valenciano
Marc Tan
Glenda Bernabe
Shirley Puerto Pascual

We'll be forever grateful for your support and generosity.

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Enzo's First Trick or Treat

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Enzo at Hulugan Falls

Mom Kat and Enzo at Hulugan Falls in Laguna
November 2015

You can only see and feel the world around you. I often wonder about your thoughts as you gaze at the giant falls and swim in the icy cold water. This unfamiliar territory, where there are no busy streets but only the peaceful embrace of the lush green forest.

I pray someday that you'll hear the mighty sound of the water falling from above, on this same place. I pray that my wish for you will be fulfilled so that you will be able to see and feel the world around you better when you finally receive the gift of sound.

-----

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

A Double Celebration

Enzo had two blessed celebrations for his second birthday. First, he had an early birthday celebration with DAYO. We wish that someday he'll become part of the team too :)

Birthday cake from DAYO

Again, we'd like to thank the group for your countless support. Cheers to more successful climbs!

For his second celebration, Enzo shared his special day with his family and close friends. This is a simple gift from Mom Kat for his little boy.

Mommy Kat and Enzo

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Happy 2nd Birthday Enzo

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with

yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than

the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

-- an excerpt from Max Ehrmann's poem Desiderata

Climb for a Cause Participants Who Joined 3 Events become DAYO Members

Great news to all those who participated in the successful climb for a cause by DAYO!

Those who joined any of the three of the seven events - Mt. Maculot, Bolinao, Mt. Batulao, Mt. Mabilog, Mt. Manabu, Mt. Manalmon and Magalawa, will become automatic members of the outdoor group.

The announcement was posted via DAYO/Enzo's Facebook group page by Jackielyn Magno, one of DAYO's officers and administrator of the group's social media.

What is Dayo?

DAYO is an outdoor group that is bound by friendship and common interest. They organize monthly outdoor activities and various trips in different mountains and beaches in the Philippines every year.

Moreover, official members can get to know other fellow mountaineers and outdoor enthusiasts through DAYO's anniversary climbs and Christmas party.

One of the highlights of DAYO's outdoor activities is the Balik Eskwela outreach program wherein the group aims to provide school supplies to children living in less fortunate communities in Metro Manila and other provinces. They have organized a total of five Balik Eskwela programs since 2011.

On the other hand, the recently concluded fundraising climbs for Enzo was also lead by the outdoor group.

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Photo credit goes to the owners of the images.

Dayo hosts successful mountaineering activities for Enzo

The weekends of August and September were the busiest months of 2015 for baby Enzo's family and friends.

Mommy Kat is an active member of the mountaineering group DAYO. In cooperation with the outdoor group, they launched a series of climbing activities to help raise funds for Enzo's cochlear implantation.

Around 139 participants plus guests joined the climb. Here's the unofficial head count posted on Enzo/Dayo's Facebook group:

Mt. Maculot August 22, 2015
10 participants

Team Maculot (dubbed as the Pabebe Group)

Bolinao
August 29, 2015
10 participants

Team Bolinao (dubbed as Rose among the Thorn)

Mt. Batulao
September 5, 2015
13 participants

Team Batulao (dubbed as The Lucky 13)

Mt. Mabilog
September 12, 2015
37 participants

Team Mt. Mabilog (dubbed as Usapang Bilog)

Mt. Manabu
September 19, 2015
44 participants

Team Mt. Manabu (dubbed as Climb with Kapeng Barako)

Mt. Manalmon
September 26, 2015
35 participants

Team Manalmon (dubbed as Twin Hike)

A culminating event for all participants was supposed to take place last October 17 and 18 at Magalawa Island Amada Resort in Zambales wherein the amount collected from the climbs will be awarded to Enzo and mom Kat. Unfortuntely, Kat and little Enzo wasn't able to join the group in Zambales due to weather disturbance that week.

Dayo's successful climb for a cause for Enzo raised a total of Php 60,430.00 collected from the registration fee, donation from participants and t-shirt sale.

Baby Enzo, mommy Kat and their family are grateful for the time and energy shared by the participants and DAYO's support for this cause.

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Photo credit goes to the owners of the images.

Cochlear Implantation: How does it work?

If you've been following Enzo's journey, the main inspiration for putting up this blog is to raise funds for his cochlear implantation.

What is cochlear implantation?

According to the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA),

A cochlear implant is a device that provides stimulation directly to the auditory nerve, bypassing damaged hair cells in the cochlea that prevent sound from reaching the nerve. An implant does not result in "restored" hearing for the recipient, but does allow him or her to perceive sounds.

Children as young as twelve months of age can become a candidate for cochlear implantation so long as the child has severe to profound hearing loss in both ears.

In Enzo's case, his medical profile from the Philippine National Ear Institute showed that he has Bilateral Profound Hearing Loss. His condition was only discovered when he was seven months old. He is turning two this October 23.

According to the summary report submitted by Dr. Charlotte M. Chiong, cochlear implantation is strongly recommended for him to have a chance to access the frequencies that are not accessible with hearing aids.

Through the recommendation of doctors, Mommy Kat found MED-EL Philippines, Inc. for Enzo's implantation.

However, the cost of the cochlear implants can't be handled alone by Enzo's family. How much will it cost?

Enzo's conchlear implants will be the MED-EL CONCERTO SYSTEM. The unit's original price is Php 1,330,000,00 (including taxes and duties).

Fortunately, MED-EL has offered a discounted price for the unit at Php 950, 000 (including taxes and duties) inclusive of the following:

One (1) year speech therapy
Two (2) years free programming and fitting of the system

MED-EL's Concerto Cochlear Implant
photo credit: MED-EL

The Concerto, described by MED-EL as "the world's smallest titanium cochlear implant", has a variety of "the softest and most flexible electrode arrays ever produced."

What does MED-EL actually mean by this?

The company "developed a wave-shaped wire design that enables the electrode to flex and bend making it perfectly suitable for insertion into the cochlea."

The electrode is an electrical conductor responsible for transmitting the electrical simulation to the nerve fibers in the cochlea.

Here is a video from MED-EL explaining how cochlear implant works:

Video from MED-EL's YouTube

MED-EL's Concerto is the perfect implant for Enzo considering that the unit's flexibility fits his age. This will be surgically placed in his ears and will be worn hopefully in his lifetime.

To learn more about MED-EL, the CONCERTO and the other hearing aid technologies developed by the company, you can visit the following links:

CONCERTO|
http://www.medel.com/components-concerto/
Hearing Preservation
http://www.medel.com/hearingpreservation/titel=The%20Importance%20of%20Hearing%20Preservation&

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Monday, October 5, 2015

A Day in the Life | Enzo's Therapy Part 2: Occupational Therapy

In one of our earlier posts, we've learned about the various therapies Enzo needed for his learning development (Read: A day in the life | Enzo's Therapy Part 1: Language and Speech).

Aside from his language and speech therapy, Dr. Agnes Falcotelo, his developmental pediatrician at Capitol Medical Center, required him to undergo an Occupational Therapy focusing on ADL (Activity on Daily Living) and behavioral activity.

Enzo with his therapist/teacher Alvin Wang of CHIPS Inc.

What is occupational therapy?

According to KidsHealth.Org:

Occupational therapy (OT) treatment focuses on helping people with a physical, sensory, or cognitive disability be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives. OT can help kids with various needs improve their cognitive, physical, sensory, and motor skills and enhance their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment.

Enzo's occupational therapy is also held at CHIPS Inc. with his teacher Alvin Wang. He uses different tools such as chewy tubes, ball and toys that can help him develop his motor skills and learn actions such as 'give', 'throw away', 'pack away' and 'bye bye' among others.

He is also learning how to play with toys properly.

Enzo learning balance control with a vestibular ball.

Here are just some of the tools that Enzo play with during therapy:

Aside from these therapies, his mommy Kat also wants to him to grow and become familiar in an environment where he can be physically active and confident.

Mommy Kat and Enzo at the Marikina Sports Complex

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Climb for a Cause

A climb for a cause organized by mountaineering group DAYO is set on the following dates to raise funds for Enzo. Come and join us in this activity!

The Enzo A Gift of Sound t-shirt is also available as a part of the fundraising campaign.

A Thank You Note (Batch I)

Source: Todayscreativelife.com

We would like to thank everyone who has shared Enzo's story to their family and friends and for taking the time to visit, read and share this blog through social media.

Enzo and Kat would also like to sincerely thank the following people who have shared their blessings.

Mr. Danilo Castro - UK
Ms. Bel Molina-Valdez - NY
Ms. Mina Grace Joseph - NY
Ms. Rochelle Abulencia - Manila
Mr. Melvin Dimalanta - Dubai
Mr. Jayson Birung (Tau Gamma Phi Triskelion Intl Dubai, UAE)
Mr. Nelson Bautista - Jeddah KSA
Ms. Ailene Balagtas-Paul - Kenmore, Washington.
Ms. Meiricel Ramos - Manila

We'll be forever grateful for your support and generosity.

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

A Life Without Sound: What you need to learn about hearing loss in children

Imagine living a life without sound. Imagine growing up without ever knowing what it’s like to hear the sound of laughter, music or your loved ones’ voices.

It’s quite difficult to imagine or put yourself in the shoes of someone growing up missing one of the five senses to help you get by through your daily life. Our senses of sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste are all important and connected that if one thing goes wrong, all aspects of life gets affected.

Source: Freepik.com

For Enzo, discovering the world around him is a challenge. He can’t speak and can’t express himself properly. He was already seven months old when his mom discovered that he can’t hear on both ears.

Bilateral Profound Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is a common birth defect that affects 1 to 3 out of 1,000 babies.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), thirty two million children have disabling hearing loss. This means that the hearing loss is greater than 30 dB – that is the sound of a quiet bedroom at night or a whisper.

Enzo was diagnosed with Bilateral Profound Hearing Loss. There is damage in his inner ear or cochlea, the nerve pathway from the ear to the brain.

Source: https://mechanicalcochlea.wordpress.com/home/the-cochlea/

This type of hearing loss may be caused by genetic syndromes or infection from the mother that was passed to her baby in the womb.

In Enzo’s case, his mom Kat had a urinary tract related infection while she was still pregnant with him.

Race against time

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association notes that 'hearing is critical to speech and language development, communication, literacy and learning. Early identification and intervention of hearing loss can lessen the impact on a child’s development.'

Families and friends are in a race against time to help give Enzo the gift of sound. He is still in his best age to have a cochlear implant surgery that will help him hear the world around him. He is turning two years old on October 23rd.

One cochlear implant costs about P1.3 million per ear.

On our next blog entry, we will discuss more about cochlear implants and how it will help Enzo hear again.

To learn more about Enzo's condition, kindly read HERE.

Please follow this blog for more updates about Enzo and to learn more about hearing loss in children and other related information.

For more information, contact Kat at (+63) 917-8067905 or email enzogiftofsound@gmail.com.

Monday, July 20, 2015

A day in the life | Enzo's Therapy Part 1: Language and Speech

Enzo with teacher Jessha Bustamante

Enzo had his initial speech evaluation on April 2015. Speech evaluation and therapy are the requirements before the CI (cochlea implantation). His EENT and developmental pedia recommended the Center for Holistic Intervention Plans & Services, Inc. (CHIPS Inc.) where Enzo is currently enrolled. Therapy is done once a week.

CHIPS Inc. is located at 7-A Maginhawa Street in Diliman, Quezon City.

Enzo's learning goals are measured in three categories set in each lesson and activity. These are Audition, Speech, and Language/Cognition. Audition evaluates Enzo's ability to perceive environmental sound through vibrations using musical instruments. Speech sound is observed while playing. Language/Cognition, on the other hand, is also evaluated while playing using toys and book sharing.

Based on the evaluation, Enzo shows inconsistent response. He still needs handover assistance, but he can associate sounds to objects like, for instance, "oo" for train and "mm" for car.

Enzo's language and speech therapy must continue after his cochlear implant surgery.