PARENT’S PERSPECTIVE Max first came to GOSH when he was just a few months old, after doctors discovered he was profoundly deaf. Mum Giulia tells Pioneer his story. Finding out Max was deaf when he was tiny was a real shock. He must’ve only been about a month old. We also learnt that Max’s condition had a genetic cause and, through testing, realised that myself and my husband had a faulty gene, giving us a onein-four chance of having deaf children. When our younger daughter Olivia was also born deaf, we were devastated. At the time, Max was fitted with hearing aids at his local hospital, but he still couldn’t hear much with them. Due to his level of deafness, he was referred to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). As Olivia was found to be moderately deaf, she didn’t need to come to GOSH. I was quite naïve when we were first transferred to GOSH. I was happy we were there, but it was a reality I wasn’t used to. Everything was so new; there were a lot of emotions. 34 PIONEER
It was also scary knowing Max would need to go through such a big operation so young but understanding what benefits the implants bring gave us hope for his future.
A LIFE-CHANGING OPERATION A month after his first birthday Max finally came to GOSH to have his cochlear implants fitted. It was a big operation, lasting six hours, but a successful one. After the operation, I stayed overnight with Max on Peter Pan Ward. We had our own room and there were lots of other parents staying over too, so it was nice to not be completely alone. The Play team would also bring Max toys; I remember his cot was full of them. He was only small but I’m sure he enjoyed it very much at the time.
