Little Alex says £500 thanks for his hearing

11:11am Thursday 15th May 2008

A cochlear implant patient visited a medical team in Bradford to present a cheque for more than £500 to say thanks for giving him the gift of hearing.

Three-year-old Alex Wood was fitted with a cochlear implant at the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service at Bradford Royal Infirmary six months ago - a life-changing procedure which has enabled him to speak for the first time.

The youngster is profoundly deaf in his left ear and has hearing loss in his right ear. After struggling with hearing aids and becoming frustrated at his inability to communicate, he was referred to Bradford by doctors in his home town of Harrogate to see if he was suitable for a cochlear implant.

Often known as a bionic ear, the implant is an electronic device with an internal part and an external part, which sends a signal to the inner ear. Alex was a candidate for the treatment and had surgery to fit the internal part of the device on August 20 in a operation that lasted almost three hours. Bradford is the only place in the Yorkshire region where the treatment is available. One month later, the external processor was fitted and switched on. "It has enabled him to speak for the first time. It is fantastic - he has lots of words now and is doing really well," said his mother Debbie.

"It has changed all of us as a family. He is loving sound and always wants to have music on - it is life changing.

"It will open a lot of doors for him and we don't have to worry about him growing up now in the same way as we did."

The Wood family, including 14-year-old sister Natalie and father Ian, visited the unit to hand over £535 raised in a Listening for Life sale held in Harrogate and supported by a businesses, clubs and organisations, and family and friends.

The money is going to the Listening for Life Appeal, which is raising £1.5 million to build a centre for the cochlear implant service at Bradford Royal Infirmary. It will be the first dedicated cochlear implant centre in the country.

The centre is under construction and will increase the number of people given cochlear implants each year. The unit will include testing facilities, rehab rooms, professional training and support workshops.

Constructing and equipping the centre is expected to total around £2.6m. Mrs Wood added: "We wanted to say thankyou for the support we have had - it was beyond what we expected. Alex will use the new centre for the rest of his life so we wanted to do our little bit to help."

For information on the YCIS, visit ycis.org.uk. To help with fundraising contact Breeda Barry on 07815 753677.

e-mail: claire.lomax @telegraphandargus.co.uk

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