Helping a two-year-old hear her parents for the first time
The Angels came together to help two-year-old Auryn hear her parents' voices for the first time.
Auryn is a Gaelic name that means "gold".
This is what two-year-old Auryn Hougaard's parents called her after her dad Nico's grandmother.
Her mom, Elyssa, was 10 weeks pregnant with little Auryn when she was diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2021.
Nico recalls how they navigated the uncertainty and protocol around the illness and restrictions while their income was shrinking. Auryn was born healthy and happy on 26 February 2022.
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Six months on, the family finances could not keep up anymore - it was decision time: a roof over their heads or medical aid. They gave up the latter to make ends meet. All went well on the medical front until August this year, when Auryn was diagnosed with 'Profound Deafness' in both ears.
Nico recalls: "How did we miss this? How did we not notice? How did two grannies and two teachers not pick anything up?"
She can hear deep base sounds, but not voices.
Ellysa had just started a job that month and they were planning to get on a medical aid again - when the news came - which means no hearing coverage for Auryn for at least a year.
After tests it was confirmed that Auryn was a perfect candidate for cochlear implants - to get her hearing and speech to near normal. The price tag of R550,000 for one ear is daunting and they managed to raise R75,000 with the help of family and friends.
The Angels at Operation Healing Hands stepped in and asked Good Morning Angels to assist their effort to help Auryn hear.
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REQUEST FOR: Two-year-old Auryn Hougaard and her parents Nico and Elyssa Hougaard
REQUEST FROM: Stephanie van Twisk and others
ANGEL 1: Operation Healing Hands (OHH), represented by Brenché Loubser
SPONSORING: Southern ENT will supply the cochlear implant device at R150,000 - that's a discount of R100,000! OHH has also managed to secure a R75,000 cash donation, as well as discounts from the hospital, with medical personnel giving their time and skills for free. They've secured the procedure date for next Tuesday, 12 November at Zuid-Afrikaans Hospital.
ANGEL 2: The Good Morning Angels Fund
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist the family with the outstanding R100,000 needed to cover Auryn's cochlear implant procedure on 12 November to help her hear for the first time!
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
Dear Good Morning Angels,
I am in tears as I read Nico's words in the placement in Maroela Media about his beautiful daughter Auryn.
A parents guilt is so real. That questions and guilt of not realising earlier, not seeing the signs.
We have known Nico for years, his beliefs and values are his core. He has always lived his life on his knees before God, now more than ever. I cannot even imagine the moment when they received the news that their daughter, Auryn, is profoundly deaf. Then the realisation that they did not have a medical aid anymore due to difficult times.
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As a mother of two little boys, our youngest only months younger than Auryn I cannot even imagine the amount of stress, guilt and absolute hopelessness they must feel right now.
These days just trying to survive after COVID feels like an everyday challenge, just to have a roof over your head and ensuring your kids are fed and healthy is a challenge. Hearing should not be part of that challenge, it should be a right to hear, not a privilege.
As I unfortunately did not win the lotto to help my friends, I am on my knees begging Good Morning Angles to help this family. This little girl, who will be turning three in February, deserves the right to hear her parents' voices. She deserves the right to live a normal life.
Nico and his wife Elyssa need around R550,000 for their daughter to receive the cochlear implant and treatments she will need. The article about their daughter was placed in Maroela Media on the 25th of October.
I apologise if my email is all over the place, but I cannot stop crying for this beautiful little girl.
Kind Regards
Stephanie van Twisk
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