Sweet Sounds of a Brighter Future

Morgan is obsessed with the movie, Frozen, and loves riding her bike and playing outside. Every song she sings, each dinner conversation, her giggles with friends — they’re all precious. That’s because Morgan, 4, was born deaf.

“She failed her newborn hearing screening, but the doctors weren’t concerned,” recalls Morgan’s dad, Ryan. But a thorough evaluation a few weeks later determined that Morgan had profound hearing loss in both ears.

“It was crushing and overwhelming,” says Ryan. “We had so many worries about her future.”

They met with Dr. Tracey Ambrose, a lead audiologist at Children’s National Hospital. Morgan was a candidate for cochlear implants and had the procedure when she was 9 months old.

“Tracey was so compassionate and answered all of our ‘what-if’ questions without hesitation,” says Ryan. “We felt so lucky to have her by our side.”

Morgan adjusted to her implants right on schedule. She heard her dads say “I love you” for the first time right before Christmas. A few weeks later she celebrated her first birthday.

Since then, she has worked with a speech-language pathologist and an auditory verbal specialist. Morgan’s speech is excellent and her progress has exceeded expectations.

“Thanks to the team at Children’s National, hearing loss won’t hold our daughter back,” says Ryan. “The world is open for her and we couldn’t be more grateful.”