It's unfathomable, because when…
when you are told you are going to have a baby it is a very happy moment.
In fact, when the baby—when Mateo was born after a perfect natural birth,
he was placed in my arms, and my wife had a huge smile.
It was a very happy moment for all of us and everything was great.
The pediatrician arrived and he started talking to us, answering our questions about bathing the baby, how to change a diaper.
All the types of questions new parents have.
At that moment, Mateo was sleeping and the pediatrician started clapping.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Mateo remained completely asleep.
And in that moment, I knew that life had changed completely.
Using Google, I started doing searches in the United States, and I found U.S. News & World Report and a lot of hospitals.
The first two hospitals to respond were Boston, a hospital in Massachusetts, and Johns Hopkins. However, Boston was telling me,
"We’ll see," and Johns Hopkins said to me, "Here’s your appointment and we will see you for a second diagnosis."
After that, I went to call my wife and told her,
“We’re going to Baltimore."
When we arrived at Hopkins, it was a huge surprise— because of the way they receive you.
It is so different from what had happened in Mexico.
One of the most important aspects of what we do here is to receive the patients and make them feel at home.
And, within a short time, you develop a friendship. I think this is the most important part,
because this way they develop trust in us and they are not isolated from the system.
They feel like they have moral and spiritual support in us.
We were hoping that at Hopkins they would tell us that it was a mistake, an erroneous presumption.
All the tests were done, and in a totally compassionate and professional manner they told us,
“The initial diagnosis was correct. Mateo does indeed have an auditory problem, but there is a solution.”
At the end, it could be confirmed that Mateo was a good candidate to receive a cochlear implant.
When we went to see Dawn Marsiglia, the audiologist, she explained to us how this technology works.
And while with her, the activation of the first implant took place.
Muy bien. ¿Vas a permitirme poner esto en tu oído? ¡Ahí, vamos! ¡Perfecto! Bien, pues ahora voy a encenderlo.
-Mateo? -Ahh!
Mateo?
Lo que realmente me gusta es brindarle a los padres la confianza de que sí va a suceder,
pero toma algún tiempo. Y, aunque a veces los padres están muy nerviosos
cuando todo hace clic, y cuando ese desarrollo acontece esa es la mejor parte.
Every three months they have to do a check-up.
So, we come every three months. And now, we look forward as a family, and as a couple, to those three months.
So then, coming to Baltimore is like vacation. Well, not exactly vacation, but rather a pilgrimage because...
because it renews our energy.
We arrive and we don’t know if we’ve done well or not. And we are told, “Don’t worry, guys. That's okay. Good job! Good job!”
And they arrive, they check, they solve any problems quickly, and then help you out, making you feel you are on the right path.
También, cuando regresan a su casa van a terapias y están comprometidos,
con el proceso y con todo lo que toma desde el principio para obtener los mejores resultados.
Each day that goes by, I can tell he is developing social skills.
His motor skills are like any other child. He moves, plays, dances. Now that he is able to hear, his facial expression has changed.
Mateo, I’m convinced, has no problem understanding. Thanks to this technology, he’ll be able to go to school. He can swim.
In the future, he could have a girlfriend and get married. He could go to college, get a job.
For me, as a parent, it has been difficult to accept and understand that these anomalies can happen. Not being able to hear is dire.
But, since there is a solution, we move forward. It’s difficult to do, but we keep moving forward. Time is a great teacher.
It shows you that, in fact, something has happened, something life-changing. However, since we have the solution to the problem,
Mateo will have a totally normal life.