2-month-old will get implants, but insurance won’t cover them
When Mitzi Hebert brought her newborn daughter, Averlee, to the doctor for what she thought was a routine follow-up examination, she wasn’t prepared for what she was about to learn.
“Even the doctors said everything was probably fine,” Hebert said. “But they were having trouble getting a reading on her hearing … I knew it was taking a really long time.”
The news was alarming to Hebert and her husband, Charles: Averlee was born deaf.
Hebert, an alumnus of Hahnville High School, admitted she’s still emotionally coming to grips with that reality.
“Sometimes, I think, ‘Let me put on some music, maybe Averlee will like it,” Hebert said. “Just things you take for granted.”
Though she cannot hear, Averlee’s other senses are heightened. Hebert said her daughter’s seeing is advanced to the point that even a slight movement draws a reaction.
“She has trouble sleeping because she feels everything,” Hebert said. “Even a brush against her crib can wake her up.”
But while Hebert said it can be overwhelming emotionally, at times, she said she’s also grateful Averlee’s diagnosis wasn’t something even more serious or life threatening.She’s also grateful that she’s the mother of an extremely happy child.
“She’s the happiest kid you’ll ever meet,” Hebert said with a laugh. “She wakes up and, the first thing in the morning, she wants to see you and talk to you. She wants to see everything, all of the time. She doesn’t know anything is different.”
Averlee sees an occupational and speech therapist regularly; meetings with the latter will increase as she gets older. Hebert is an active participant in those sessions, as baby Averlee always wants her mother to be in her sight.
“I can’t call out to her, so we have to be in a position where I’m in her line of sight,” Hebert said. “At home, I do have to take a few more precautions than I did with her sister (Hebert also has a seven-year-old daughter, named Bryli) because her balance is affected. I use flash cards with her and she’s very responsive. She’s really vocal. People are kind of surprised by that, but she really is.”
The family hasn’t given up hope that Averlee will be able to hear.
Currently, she is being fitted with regular hearing aids, which to date haven’t affected her ability to hear; but wearing them is preparing her for surgery for Cochlear implants, electronic devices that provide a sense of sound for those who are profoundly deaf or hard of hearing. To keep Averlee’s nerves stimulated, she must wear her hearing aids requiring new molds every four to six weeks until her procedure. These visits are $150 each and are not covered by her insurance. Averlee will see a specialist to have extensive tests done in preparation of her implant surgery.
“She won’t hear like you or I hear, but if the surgery is successful, it would almost be like listening to a robot,” Hebert said. “She’d have to relearn how she hears, or senses, with them.”
Averlee must wait until she is a year old to have that surgery. It has been a point of uncertainty for the family; Hebert said that though Louisiana insurance law mandates insurance must provide coverage for such hearing expenditures, Charles’ insurance under his employer is based out of state and has said the hearing aids and surgery will not be covered.
“We have a year to figure it out,” Hebert said. “We have more time than we originally thought. But it was a shock. We were told, originally, it would be 100 percent covered.”
She said the experience has inspired her. Hebert wants to start a charity that helps those who find themselves in a similar situation.
“I don’t want other parents to have to go through that,” Hebert said.
Be the first to comment