Miss-Delectable
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The Enquirer - Deaf mom needs assist
Melina Nugent misses hearing her kids laugh.
"I tickle them, and I see their faces, but I can't hear it," she said.
Nugent, 32, is great with kids. She and her husband, Bob, have five, and his niece and her two sons are staying with them.
To help a friend who's going to school and working full time, Nugent watches her two daughters as well.
"We have kids coming out our ears," she said, laughing.
But for Nugent, who is deaf, it's hard to communicate with even her own children, who know just basic sign language.
Nugent started losing her hearing in her late 20s. A few years back, she set the smoke alarm off while cooking. Family members rushed into the kitchen, but she hadn't noticed the piercing shriek of the alarm.
Nugest had her hearing tested and found she had moderate to severe hearing loss. She was fitted for hearing aids but within months, her world went silent again, as her hearing loss worsened.
A licensed practical nurse, Nugent was working toward a bachelor's degree in nursing when she lost her hearing. She had to stop working when she realized her hearing loss could put patients at risk.
The family went to relying on Bob's income of about $20,000 as a tow truck driver.
Nugent, a gifted artist who took up painting a couple of years ago, wants to help other people with hearing loss and to raise awareness for those who become deaf as an adult.
She dreams of starting a foundation called LdAF (pronounced "laugh"), or the Latent deaf Adult Foundation, to help people cope with sudden hearing loss.
Meanwhile, she needs assistive learning devices - such as lights that flash when the doorbell rings and an alarm clock that shakes - along with sign language tutoring for her family and a hearing service dog. All this would cost about $5,000.
What would the devices give Nugent? "Confidence and independence," she said without hesitation.
Melina Nugent misses hearing her kids laugh.
"I tickle them, and I see their faces, but I can't hear it," she said.
Nugent, 32, is great with kids. She and her husband, Bob, have five, and his niece and her two sons are staying with them.
To help a friend who's going to school and working full time, Nugent watches her two daughters as well.
"We have kids coming out our ears," she said, laughing.
But for Nugent, who is deaf, it's hard to communicate with even her own children, who know just basic sign language.
Nugent started losing her hearing in her late 20s. A few years back, she set the smoke alarm off while cooking. Family members rushed into the kitchen, but she hadn't noticed the piercing shriek of the alarm.
Nugest had her hearing tested and found she had moderate to severe hearing loss. She was fitted for hearing aids but within months, her world went silent again, as her hearing loss worsened.
A licensed practical nurse, Nugent was working toward a bachelor's degree in nursing when she lost her hearing. She had to stop working when she realized her hearing loss could put patients at risk.
The family went to relying on Bob's income of about $20,000 as a tow truck driver.
Nugent, a gifted artist who took up painting a couple of years ago, wants to help other people with hearing loss and to raise awareness for those who become deaf as an adult.
She dreams of starting a foundation called LdAF (pronounced "laugh"), or the Latent deaf Adult Foundation, to help people cope with sudden hearing loss.
Meanwhile, she needs assistive learning devices - such as lights that flash when the doorbell rings and an alarm clock that shakes - along with sign language tutoring for her family and a hearing service dog. All this would cost about $5,000.
What would the devices give Nugent? "Confidence and independence," she said without hesitation.