Here is my end-of-the-year Christmas update. Finished my last course for 2008 the week before Thanksgiving and then on Wednesday, Nov. 26th, I traveled to Bucharest to be with the Dr. Carmen Mocanu, the doctor at the pediatric hospital, who was there for the only audiology course at the only Ear Institute in Romania. The course is offered by Dr. Pascu, the head-honcho of all ENT’s here in Romania. I had heard so much about him and it was great to finally meet him. A wonderful benefit to Carmen’s visit was that Dr. Pascu designated our pediatric audiology center at the pediatric hospital instead of the main hospital of Cluj as the site for neonatal hearing testing after failed hearing screenings in the nursery. This was nothing short of a miracle. Progress continues!!
Progress continues as well with the non-profit slowly but surely. I finally had to admit that I could not do this by myself, so I am incorporating help wherever possible and hope to make big strides of progress in January 2009. I am hoping as well to translate and incorporate the concept of the JOY of hearing into the Romanian name of the non-profit.
This concept of the JOY of hearing was evident this month in a particular hearing aid patient I want to tell you about. I it gave me JOY to be able to use my skills to help her to hear again and to re-confirm once again why the Lord sent me here. She has what is known as otosclerosis which is usually an operable hearing condition. Her mother had the same condition and the whole family believed there was nothing to be done. Somehow (only the Lord knows), she found her way to me. Previously, no one had diagnosed her correctly and none of her hearing tests accurately revealed her condition. Her hearing loss was profound – at the bottom of the audiogram. A dear family friend in the US, Mary Healy, had the same condition and passed away in 2006 and Jim, her husband, gave me her special headband and hearing aid. I was able to jerry-rig a bit of equipment that I had with Mary’s special headband to help Mrs. Puscariu to hear once again.
