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Deaf child's performance is one family's Christmas miracle
While the singers warmed up their vocal chords and the organist warmed up the crowd, seven-year-old Lynneah Andrews was backstage getting a touch-up on her makeup, along with some last-minute advice: "Do your best, right?"
The second grader is no stranger to the stage. Elizabeth Nelson is the director of costumes and make-up for the Word of Life Fellowship’s Sights and Sounds of Christmas. "I think her first production was not Christmas, but Easter. She was a baby carried on stage and handed to Jesus."
This time, Lynneah will step on stage as the Angel of the Lord and speak in front of an audience that includes kids from her elementary school.
The challenge? "The fact she really is 100 percent deaf." Elizabeth says.
Her dad, Rich, said, "I was devastated. Absolutely, devastated."
A life-threatening bout with meningitis at five months old robbed Lynneah of her hearing.
It was a tremendous blow to her parents Rich and Lynn, who often ministers through music. "As a dad, when your child is broke, you want to fix it."
But the Andrews didn't know how. Then a friend of the Word of Life ministry pointed them to Doctor Loren Bartels in Tampa, who told them about cochlear implants -- kind of like bionic ears. "The FDA really wasn't approving them. There had to be special things that had to have happened in her. She met all the criteria, even though she'd only been deaf for six or seven weeks."
Her dad says Lynneah became the first child in Florida implanted with bilateral implants.
Their hope: their little girl would one day experience the joy of a Christmas carole as well as the laughter of a responding audience.
About six years later, Lynneah is able to do both.
"Fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy which will be for all people," said Lynneah, performing in her best voice. "A savior is born on this day which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manager.”
Mom, backstage, smiles with pride. “Good job, baby. And that's it!"
Today, Lynneah is perfectly healthy and perfectly at ease with her cochlear implants. "The microphone is right there. It’s small and there's a little phone thing in here."
Her mom says, “The Lord could have taken her home, but he has a plan for her life."
Mom and dad believe part of that plan is to spread a message: early detection is key. They encourage families to have their children's hearing checked regularly. "Had we not gone for that follow-up appointment after she left the hospital, it could have been months before we realized there was something was wrong.”
That early detection means a wide-open future for anything Lynneah wants to be, including, "A singer, because I love singing."
If you'd like to see Lynneah and her family in the Sights and Sounds of Christmas order tickets to the performance at sightsandsounds.wol.org or call 1-877-412-8687 .
Dr Loran Bartels can be reached at The Tampa Bay Hearing and Balance Center
Harbourside Medical Tower
5 Tampa General Circle Suite 610
Tampa, Florida 33606
While the singers warmed up their vocal chords and the organist warmed up the crowd, seven-year-old Lynneah Andrews was backstage getting a touch-up on her makeup, along with some last-minute advice: "Do your best, right?"
The second grader is no stranger to the stage. Elizabeth Nelson is the director of costumes and make-up for the Word of Life Fellowship’s Sights and Sounds of Christmas. "I think her first production was not Christmas, but Easter. She was a baby carried on stage and handed to Jesus."
This time, Lynneah will step on stage as the Angel of the Lord and speak in front of an audience that includes kids from her elementary school.
The challenge? "The fact she really is 100 percent deaf." Elizabeth says.
Her dad, Rich, said, "I was devastated. Absolutely, devastated."
A life-threatening bout with meningitis at five months old robbed Lynneah of her hearing.
It was a tremendous blow to her parents Rich and Lynn, who often ministers through music. "As a dad, when your child is broke, you want to fix it."
But the Andrews didn't know how. Then a friend of the Word of Life ministry pointed them to Doctor Loren Bartels in Tampa, who told them about cochlear implants -- kind of like bionic ears. "The FDA really wasn't approving them. There had to be special things that had to have happened in her. She met all the criteria, even though she'd only been deaf for six or seven weeks."
Her dad says Lynneah became the first child in Florida implanted with bilateral implants.
Their hope: their little girl would one day experience the joy of a Christmas carole as well as the laughter of a responding audience.
About six years later, Lynneah is able to do both.
"Fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy which will be for all people," said Lynneah, performing in her best voice. "A savior is born on this day which is Christ the Lord, and this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manager.”
Mom, backstage, smiles with pride. “Good job, baby. And that's it!"
Today, Lynneah is perfectly healthy and perfectly at ease with her cochlear implants. "The microphone is right there. It’s small and there's a little phone thing in here."
Her mom says, “The Lord could have taken her home, but he has a plan for her life."
Mom and dad believe part of that plan is to spread a message: early detection is key. They encourage families to have their children's hearing checked regularly. "Had we not gone for that follow-up appointment after she left the hospital, it could have been months before we realized there was something was wrong.”
That early detection means a wide-open future for anything Lynneah wants to be, including, "A singer, because I love singing."
If you'd like to see Lynneah and her family in the Sights and Sounds of Christmas order tickets to the performance at sightsandsounds.wol.org or call 1-877-412-8687 .
Dr Loran Bartels can be reached at The Tampa Bay Hearing and Balance Center
Harbourside Medical Tower
5 Tampa General Circle Suite 610
Tampa, Florida 33606
