Our third child, Zander, was born with a moderate hearing loss and I have written about his hearing loss before. After the diagnosis last year Daniel and I learned that we would need to purchase a set of hearing aids every three years and that they cost around $4,000.
The Parent Infant Program at Sunshine Cottage loans you two different types of hearing aids the first year you are in the program. During that year you have time to save up money and figure out which pair you want to purchase. It also gives families time to determine if the hearing loss gets worse.
I wasn’t too concerned about coming up with the money to buy hearing aids for our son. The birth of Roman and Zander cost about $3,500 each and we always came up with a way to pay the birth center when we had our boys. So I was pretty confident that we could cash flow the cost of the hearing aids.
Hearing Aid Scholarship
Our Parent Advisor, Donna, and our Audiologist, Jean
My parent advisor at Sunshine Cottage told us about a scholarship program that would provide hearing aids if you showed that you were committed to the Parent Infant Program, took care of the loaner hearing aids, and showed a financial need. She explained that the scholarship is for working families that the purchase of hearing aids would be a financial burden.
Daniel and I applied for the scholarship two months ago. There was a chance that the school would buy one hearing aid or both. We chose the set we wanted, Oticon Safari. They are like the Lexus of hearing aids. They are reliable, look good on Zander, and I like the flashing light that indicates when a battery is going out. The cost of each hearing was $1800 for a total of $3,600.
I didn’t think much of the scholarship, because I don’t expect handouts and I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I knew if it came down to it that we would figure out something to sell or Daniel could pick up an extra job. However, Daniel and I have started working earnestly towards working on Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. I knew looking at the budget that I had no idea where we were going to find the money. We had already met our $5,000 medical deductible for Zander this year. I knew that we could eek out a few more months from the loaner hearing aids, but our time to buy our own set was coming up very quickly.
Humbling Myself and Praying
I realized that I needed to humble myself and pray and ask God to provide Zander’s hearing aids. We didn’t have the money for them. I started praying specifically that we would get the scholarship. I began asking friends and family to pray too.
That week my Parent Advisor asked me which color hearing aids we wanted and I tried a few samples on Zander. She told me that it was highly probable that we would get it.
We Got The Scholarship!
Zander’s new hearing aids
At the end of the year banquet for the Parent Infant Program the PIP Director and the Executive Director came to our table and told us the news that we got the scholarship. Daniel and I both cried in gratitude at least ten times. Our Audiologist, Jean, told us that we are the only family that has received the scholarship so far this year. It felt that I was being commended for all the work I’ve put in by working with Zander and taking him to Sunshine Cottage every week.
A few weeks ago Zander got his own set of brand new hearing aids. They came with a bag of goodies and a stuffed animal named Otto the Otter who also has hearing aids.
I am so thankful that God heard our prayers and provided hearing aids for Zander! I still thank Him in my times of prayer. Now my prayer is that one day, Daniel and I will be able to give back to that scholarship fund and help other families.
Zander and Otto the Otter
