For my son, every day is a challenge. He was an alert, vibrant little baby, but we watched him become quieter and quieter, and when he was almost three, he was diagnosed with a severe hearing impairment. It takes having a deaf child to realise how important hearing is.
You can’t learn to speak without hearing. Even with the best hearing aids, my son hears mostly vowels. By the time he has figured out what you’ve said, the conversation has moved on.
Did he just travel? In a magic moment, a group of boys realised that the score in a game of basketball was not the most important thing. Credit: Andy Zakeli But there are gifts that come from suffering. My son is the gentlest person I have ever met.
He holds no grudges; he is quick to say sorry. There is no malice in him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly – or an opposing basketballer.
My son is now 11, and just played his third ever basketball game. I was watching as the opposing team ran on the court, literally heads and shoulders above my son’s team. Our boys are little, mine is the littlest and the scrawniest, and these boys towering over them have hit puberty.
A couple of brave players from our team valiantly storm down the court, dribbling furiously – desperately – to our basket. Parents are shouting “take the shot”, “come around the outside”. My eyes are fixed on my pipsqueak.
He has his fingernails in his mouth and he’s looking at me with a cute but goofy smile on his face. He gives me a thumbs up. I sign to hi.