This is Kadie. Kadie was born with very little hearing. She was called hearing impaired by age 2 and wore hearing aids. The hearing aids helped her to hear more sounds around her than what she could hear on her own.

Kadie has had many different hearing aids growing up because her ears would grow too. Kadie has had red hearing aids, and blue hearing aids, and even blue and green tie dye hearing aids.

Kadie is in Mrs. Giles 5th grade class. In class, Kadie uses an FM Transmitter to help her hear the teacher better. Kadie's friends have gotten used to her hearing aids and no one picks on her, but she still just wants to be like everyone else.

One day after school, Kadie’s mom told Kadie that she was going to cochlear implants in one of her ears. Kadie looked confused and her mom said cochlears would help her hear even better than how she hears now.

Cochlear implants are devices to improve hearing. To get cochlears you have to have surgery to get something like a magnet put in your head that will help send signals to the brain from a piece that sticks to the outside of her head.

Kadie was so excited for the chance to be able to hear better,

           BUT

she was scared of having surgery to get it done. Kadie couldn’t understand why she had to go through pain just to be more normal.

Kadie’s mom got the idea for Kadie to talk to someone her age who has been through the exact same thing. Kadie then goes to meet Lily Grace. Lily Grace tells Kadie all about her surgery and recovery and how things are better for her than ever before.

After talking with Lily Grace, Kadie began to feel better about having the surgery. She felt more prepared now.

Now it was time for her surgery. She couldn't eat or drink all day. Kadie and her mom drove to Greenville, South Carolina for her surgery. Kadie was still nervous, but not as nervous as before her talk with Lily Grace.

Kadie got prepped or ready for surgery. She wore a hospital gown and laid down on the bed. The doctors told Kadie her surgery would take 3 to 5 hours to finish. They put Kadie to sleep and began her surgery.

When Kadie got out of surgery, she was in a lot of pain. So the doctors gave her some medicine to help make the pain go away. The medicine made Kadie act very

SILLY and LOOPY!

Just before Kadie was allowed to leave the hospital, the doctor came in to talk to her. He told her that she needed lots of rest. And for the next month she cannot play

  Basketball

         Softball

             and she

    CANNOT Speed Skate.