~Kayden, a cochlear implant recipient and his new steps and improvements every week~

My little cousin, Kayden Jayce Marra, was born deaf on April 8, 2015. My family and I were very concerned at first, thinking that Kayden would be deaf for the rest of his life. Until the doctors at the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital told us about Cochlear Implants. We learned that this medical device actually does the work for the damaged parts of the inner ear to provide sound signals to the brain. We were thrilled to hear that Kayden would hear the same if not better than other people. He got his implants in on Nov. 10, 2016. After that he has made so much progress.

More specifically, at this point he is starting to walk, speak and interact. His walking is still a little unstable, but he has made so much progress from just last week. He is talking and behaving well around other people. People just love to be around him because of his sweetness. His speaking is improving. At this point, he still can’t say full sentences, but he can say names, sing songs and say the simple objects around him. Also because of his hearing loss, his other senses are so keen. For instance, his sense of direction is very sharp. Just last weekend my family and I stayed at a hotel. Every time we got out of the elevator Kayden would just walk straight to our hotel room without anybody even directing him to the room. He actually has a speech therapist and is learning new songs every week. Thus far he has learned songs which involve hand motions and the alphabet.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Maddie Detwiler

Kayden is at the Altoona Area Library in the summer of 2016. He is walking and interacting at the library.