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Would you help me attend the Association of the Late-Deafened Adults Convention (ALDACon) in Chicago on Oct 29-Nov 2. I am trying to aim for $1,000 dollars in ten days and during the course of that time I will keep you all updated! The majority of the hard of hearing, hearing impaired and deaf people in the United States developed a hearing loss later on in life. There are some people with perfect hearing that go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning – completely deaf. You have people that worked in loud factories that for every dime they took home, the sound took another hearing cell. You have more and more military personal coming back home with a hearing loss in addition to numerous of other problems. These are the people that I want to learn everything I can about the late-deafened experience.
A person coming from my background – knowing nothing else but living with a hearing loss feels the need to branch out and see how others cope. I had a lifetime of adjusting my eyes to associate the lip formation with words with what auditory input I had. The reason why I would like to go to the ALDAcon is because I want to educate myself on the needs and how I can contribute to empowering those that began their struggle with communication later on in life. It is no surprise to many that I have mentored several people regarding cochlear implant and most of them are late deafened. This is the one group that leaves that just tugs at my heart because I see their struggles written across their face trying to figure out how to make sense of this new dimension of life with a hearing loss.
I want to learn from them just as much as I want them to learn from me.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Would you help send me to ALDA?
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18 comments:
Hello Abbie! I'd love to go to this convention but cannot because I'll be on a mission trip with my church. I'll donate so you can go for me! Hope you get to go!
Hugs! Laurie
How can we donate Abbie? Do you want money sent to you or??
David
Laurie! Thank you ever so much :) I wish you could come to :(
David,
First off, I want to thank you for wanting to donate because you are a part of this group. If you have a PayPal account,you could just click on the chip in button and donate that way. If you would like to mail a money order, that will work. I can email you my home address. Please let me know either way and thank you again! This means so much to me!
Hi Abbie,
Stop by the CSDVRS booth if you make it to ALDA! Would love to meet you. Have you tried your local Lions club? What about contacting your implant company and see if they'd help donate?
No offense, but didn't you just go to the HLAA Conference? There are loads of deserving people who NEVER get to go to any conferences at all because of family obligations, work, or they just can't afford it. Why are you more deserving that you should ask others to send you on a free trip?
Amen to the anonymous!
Anonymous,
Believe or not, Abbie's trip to the HLAA conference a few months ago was her FIRST trip on the plane! So, that means that she actually has not traveled a lot throughout her life.
She is a BIG advocate for cochlear implants by blogging various information about cochlear implants, posting comments on other blogs, and helping out with Deaf Village. In order to continue to be a great advocate, she needs to keep herself up-to-date with the latest information. By going to this conference, it will allow her to continue to receive more information and pass on the information that she learned to others.
From my personal experience, attending conferences is the best way to keep me up-to-date with the latest research and any kind of information.
Abbie may not have huge salary to allow her to afford to attend the conference, and so that's why she's asking for help.
Abbie, I'd love to donate a few dollars, but I despise using Pay Pal as I had a horrible experience with them. Are there any other options?! Please let me know.
abbie,
$1,000 is not going to be enough to send you there. Right now the hotel rooms are 300 a night, and from wednesday thru sunday, with taxes that comes to $1,700.00. Not only that but registration is 300 and don't forget airfare!
Anonymous,
I did attend the HLAA conference and it was a life changing experience that left me yearning for more. When I was growing up, I was placed in a situation where I was the only deaf girl no matter where I went. When I went to the HLAA conference, I left craving more because I wanted to do more.
I never claimed that I am any more or less deserving then anyone else that wishes to attend a convention. I am taking a leap of faith that there are people that believe in me and encourage that I broaden my horizons. And so far, they are plenty of people that do.
If you feel that I am not worthy of the experience, that is your own personal opinion. It seems that you have already judged me. There is others that do and there is nothing stopping those that wish to attend these convention from doing the same thing I am doing.
Karen,
I absolutely would LOVE to meet the famous Karen :) You are a celebrity in my eyes!!
Rachel,
Thank you for everything you said. I couldn't have said it better and I want to thank you for believing in me. :)
I just sent you an email to see how we can work around the PayPal issue.
Anon #3
I have been graciously offered to room with other people which will offset the hotel costs. So far, 1,000 is a comfortable budget that covers just about everything.
Hopefully. :)
How nice of someone to offered to share room with them. However, the other expenses should be in your own pockets and not to expect someone else to help to pinch you in. There are others who have been employed and/or unemployed have paid their "own way. They were advocate for themselves across the years. Can someone in your family help you with the expenses?
I'm thankful to be surrounded with friends who I love like family. So yes, my family is helping me.
Hi Abbie
Looks like you're making progress. Ignore the naysayers. Maybe they're just upset that they didn't think of it first. We are glad to help. Your blog is a real asset to people with hearing loss!
This is another thing that I need to add - being in a big room full of CI users is a surreal experience! As someone like Abbie who has always been mainstreamed and the only CI user in my school and in my neighborhood, attending CI related conventions is an incredible lifetime experience as I come to a realization that I'm just an ordinary person as I see at first-hand that there are several other people who are just like me too. I feel like I'm living on a planet where everybody is a CI user! I also always enjoy discussing our CI-related experiences that people who hear normally would not understand.
When I was younger, after attending each CI-related conferences, I would beg my mother to come back to the next one as I always had so much fun!
I'm going to the Cochlear Celebration in March, and I'm excited as hell! So, I understand Abbie's feelings.
No one is more deserving than Abbie who has made her mark on the CI community a thousand times over! Her contributions on Hearing Journey are immensely valuable to anyone who is considering a CI. I am proud to have met and known Abbie!
Hey Abbie!!
I think this is awesome! I love your blog and the things you write. Since I can not attend I would love to have you blog all about the awesome convention!! Such a cool idea.
I also have had trouble with PayPal in the past so I really would prefer not to go that route. While I can't send a huge amount I'm hoping that the small contribution will help.
Drop me an email if you have a chnace.
Kim
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