Little Charlotte was born completely deaf. Her parents are still at a loss as to the reason — neither Christy Keane nor her husband has a family history of hearing loss and as Mom wrote on Instagram, nothing can really prepare you for such news.
But the couple was okay with it. Their daughter was perfectly theirs.
We are thrilled to announce the birth of our second little bluebird Charlotte Ruth Keane, born August 2, 2017 at 1:20 am. 5lb 6oz & 18 in of pure sweetness! She made a very quick debut and looks just like her big sister! We are so in love 💕 #twolittlebluebirds #charlotteruth #darlingcharly #37weekspregnant #labor #vbac #vbacwithoutfear A post shared by Christy Keane 🕊 (@theblushingbluebird) onThe only sad part about the news was as Christy put it, “she never heard me tell her how much I prayed for her when she was in my belly, she never heard me welcome her in to the world, she’s never heard me sing her to sleep-and the hardest to handle- she’s never heard me say ‘I love you.'”
So I am ready to open up publicly about something our family is dealing with- our sweet Charlotte is deaf (bilateral profound congenital hearing loss). We don't know why or have any answers beyond that at this time, but we have taken the last few weeks to process the information. Neither my husband nor myself have a history of hearing loss in our families and nothing really prepared us for this news but WE WILL ALL OVERCOME. This is shocking news, but it's not sad news. This sweet baby is beautiful and healthy and so capable of achieving everything she wants in life and we will make sure that happens! I would absolutely LOVE to connect and hear from any families who have been through this as we have no idea what to expect. Moving forward- Charly will be fit for her hearing aids in two weeks which will not make her hear but will get her brain and auditory nerve used to vibrations and stimulation as we wait to undergo surgery for cochlear implants (in about a year). We are so lucky to have such an amazing support system who will make this girl feel nothing less than loved, worthy, and completely normal! #hearingloss #deaf #ci #cochlearimplants #charlyshearingjourney A post shared by Christy Keane 🕊 (@theblushingbluebird) onBut that all changed recently. Since she’s just a few months old, Charly is still too young for cochlear implants, so doctors fitted her with hearing aids instead.
Then Christy got to say those three little words — I love you.
Christy wrote on Facebook: “We had our miracle moment that I have been praying for when Char got her hearing aids today. We didn’t think she would hear anything so this was more incredible than I can put in to words!” She explained on Instagram, “Imagine our surprise and delight when she gave us such heartfelt emotion.”
Watch this beautiful mother-daughter moment in the video below. Share to spread more smiles!
