THIS DEAF WOMAN’S MOTHER-IN-LAW DID SOMETHING INCREDIBLE FOR HER

Sarah Churman a deaf woman was living a blissful life with her husband and daughters. No doubt she had a perfect family but her life was far from being perfect. Sarah missed out on various opportunity only because of her hearing disability. She missed out on her daughters first cry or giggle, her husband’s sweet voice and her own laughter. But her fate took a turn when her husband told her about an implant that would restore her hearing ability. Now her hopes began to revive only to die when she heard about the expensive implant. Though the fate had another plan for her.

Deaf Since Birth

The 29-year-old Sarah was born naturally deaf. And from there on her family’s endeavor to get her hearing disability corrected began. Despite continuous efforts, they could not achieve any fruitful efforts. However, she learned the root cause of her deafness. Her inner ear did not have hairs to transmit the sound waves to the brain. She was a victim of genetic abnormality.

Lover Of Speech And English

Although she was deaf, Sarah learned to speak at the hearing school. She was given a hearing aid by age 2 and went for speech therapy sessions growing up. But she excelled in the English language and grammar and loved to talk. There was only one thing that would always bother her, her hearing aid. They never felt nice to put on.

Refusing To Use Hearing Aids

Due to it giving her uncomfortable sensations, Sarah had a habit of avoiding her hearing aids even after she and her husband met. “There’s always a constant roar, there’s always a constant hum,” she told Luis Pena, who has made a short film about her story.

Looking For Solution

Sarah knew that eventually, she would need to find a solution as she was not a mother to her dear daughters. She made up her mind to do something about the chances of never hearing her kids speak, but it was going to be a long process and she was going to be faced with many difficulties.

She Wanted To Communicate With Her Daughters

Sarah had faith in technology, that it would one-day birth something that would ease her of her problems and struggles. But it was only when she had her two daughters that she feels a certain need for the ability to hear. “I was missing out on so much about my daughters because of my disability,” she shared.

A Radio Advertisement

Sloan first heard about the Esteem implant on the radio while he was driving. He felt quite sure that this was going to help his wife’s inability to hear. She had tried other procedures but they always made her uncomfortable. Sometimes, there was too much noise around, other times the feedback wasn’t clear. She was new to hearing but had learned how to talk long ago.

Remembering Past

Her husband called her immediately and asked her to google about the implantation. Sarah recalls “In May of 2011, my husband, Sloan, was driving in his truck and heard a radio ad for the Esteem hearing implant by Envoy Medical. He listened to the ad, and in a feverish frenzy called me up and told me to Google it. He was certain it was for me. I immediately started researching like mad and I realized it was indeed my miracle.”

Implant Cost Blurs Hopes

 

When her husband mentioned the implants she became hopeful. Perhaps this implantation would redress her hearing ability. She couldn’t wait to get it done. How much had she craved listening to her husband’s and her children’s voice! She got very excited when she heard about it from her husband. However, all her hopes shattered when she learned about the cost of surgery.    

Unbearable Cost

The treatment would cost $30,000 a year. Her hopes were crushed when she realized the cost for even just the insurance to get these hearing implants. Was there any way to work it out? In an instant, her dream of hearing seemed to slip away. She started losing her faith, until…

Deaf For The Past 29 Years

29-year-old Sarah Churman was quite familiar with medical experiments as she had opted for several operations to treat her disability as a deaf person. Though she underwent many surgeries, none of them really worked for her. Now, Sarah had many hopes with this implantation but the expensive it bore was extremely high.

A Relative Steps In To Help

The  Churmans were adamant about solving the financial issue. It was then that Sloan’s mother, Lari, intervened and decided she would do anything to help her daughter-in-law. Lari went all in by offering her retirement fund to help Sarah out with her current situation. It was 2011 when Sarah got the news and now it was time to either accept or reject the generous offer.

The Date

She said yes and her first Esteem implant date had been set. This is a revolutionary aural technology introduced seven years ago. She would be hearing her own voice and her family’s voice for the first time. Would she like it? Whatever happens, she was in for a new journey in her life.

Is It Audible?

She was seated at the doctor’s office, her nervous hands gripping her ears as she intently waited. The doctor first set up her laptop before she motioned Sarah to ask if she could hear anything. The medic decided to switch on the device and asked Sarah – “Can you hear me?”

Hearing Herself For The First Time

So at that moment, Sarah could hear her own laughter for the first time which quickly made her bawl uncontrollably. “I don’t want to hear myself cry,” she said after a few minutes. As her husband Sloan sat opposite her filming her first reaction, she looked at him laughing. Everything she was hearing was a new sound to her and it got her quite excited.

No No No

Sloan and Sarah were so moved and promised to pay every last penny back but Lari answered by saying, “It isn’t a loan, it is a gift.” Sloan and Sarah just couldn’t agree to this but upon Lari’s insistence, they went in for the first procedure.

Something Else

Sloan had filmed the entire moment when Sarah first heard a sound during their visit to the doctor. This was posted by the couple online back in September 2011. The video has received 26 million views since it was posted. It had gone to inspire a lot of people facing problems with their hearing. There was another thing going for Sarah.

Even More Popularity

Ellen DeGeneres, the superstar comedian, and the talk-show host came across the clip, getting her attention immediately. Ellen was so moved by the story that she decided to invite Sarah along with Sloan and Lari on the show. “It was the most moving thing that I’d ever seen,” Ellen said. Getting invited on the show was not the only gift they received that day.

A Biography Offer For Sarah

On the show, Sarah shared her journey of being able to get one procedure done. During the interview, she mentions her love for reading and books, then Ellen promptly asked her to read her (Ellen’s) biography. Many viewers looked to this interaction as a ‘feel-good’ moment that Ellen often created on the show, and they were right.

Finally Able To Hear His Snores

Sloan was jokingly asked by Ellen about his feeling after Sarah can finally hear him snore. He said, “Well any time she could switch it off.” The live audience roared up in laughter. This was only eight days after Sarah had her first experience with the implant. Nothing could get better than this… but could it?

An Inspirational Mother-in-Law

Lari’s immense generosity was now brought out for the whole world to see after this interview happened. When asked about the loan, Lari said, “Well Sarah is the most incredible daughter-in-law.” A round of applause followed as Sarah’s eyes filled with tears of joy and gratefulness. Something Sarah had never expected happened next.

Ellen Loves To Reward Generous People

The Ellen Show often has other guests and we all know how well Ellen treats her generous or kindhearted guests. It was not a surprise finding out that Ellen had promptly spoken to the Esteem implant team to forego the cost of Sarah’s next round of medical procedures while also offering Sarah and Lari a sum of $30,000. Everyone was happy and tears of joy drowned the whole set.

Lari Loses None

Ellen had reimbursed Lari all the money she had handed out. The family also got their wish as Ellen paid for all of Sarah’s pending procedures. Lari was extremely moved by all of this generosity showered upon them. Ellen invited the family on to the stage as they hugged.  After the show, you must be asking “what happened to this touching family?”.

Going Back To The Simple Life

“Lari has to be the best mother-in-law that I’ve ever heard of,” Ellen had said on the show. Lari went back to living her own private life while Sarah had gone on to speak at various events to hopefully inspire people like herself to gain confidence and strength. After receiving so much love and attention, Sarah decided to write a book about her life to hopefully help others in need.

Sarah Writes Her Own Book

The videos posted by the family has gone on to inspire and teach so many others about generosity and selflessness after going viral. Sarah is now a fashion consultant and occasionally interacts with her fans on her Facebook page. But how can something that happened so long be so popular still?

An Inspirational Message

Sarah now owns a lifestyle brand called “The Groom Closet”. Her daughters are in high school and she is enjoying life as she approaches her mid-thirties. Sarah and Lari’s bond has strengthened especially after the implants. Meanwhile, Ellen recently re-shared the video of Churman’s guest spot in January 2016, which racked up 37,000 likes in just an hour proving how much people relate to her story still.