Megan was just 22 years old when Nehemiah was born. He was in distress, so an emergency C-section had to be performed. Because he was having seizures, he was whisked off to Children's Hospital, leaving Megan alone and frightened.
Nehemiah made great strides at Children's Hospital growing stronger and healthier every day. Before his release, Megan was told he had failed several hearing tests. Facing yet another challenge, Megan took the news of Nehemiah being Deaf very hard. She wanted to do what was best for her son though and decided to look at St. Rita when one of Nehemiah's therapists told her about the program. Megan wanted to make sure she could communicate with her son, so she enrolled in evening classes at St. Rita to learn American Sign Language (ASL).
When Nehemiah was 6, Megan decided on a cochlear implant for her son. She felt it would give him the opportunity to have the best of both worlds. Since the implant, other children sometimes stare or ask questions. Megan says it can be uncomfortable when that happens. "But, at St. Rita he is around people who look just like him. He's loved and accepted and he doesn't feel different."
Despite the many challenges Nehemiah will face, Megan is confident he will adjust and move forward because of the small class size and individual instruction he receives at St. Rita. "Nehemiah has come through so much," says Megan proudly. "He is my walking blessing! He's gained a lot from the family at St. Rita and I would never take that away from him."