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press release:
Daniel Marshall selected as GOHF 2007 cochlear implant recipient
September 7, 2007: Top ten Indy racer Tomas Scheckter may be one tough
contender on the race course, but off the track he is
all heart. On September 15, 2007 at the Collings
Foundation Transportation Museum in Stow, Massachusetts.
Scheckter of the Vision team, will be the featured
special guest and award presenter at the black-tie gala
and auction fundraiser entitled “Helping People Hear”.
This event is being organized by the Gift of Hearing
Foundation (GOHF), a Boston-based non-profit dedicated
to the restoration of hearing for the profoundly deaf.
Tomas became a board member of the GOHF after the
Foundation helped his cousin and team member, Jaki
Scheckter, get his second cochlear implant – a device
that helps deaf people hear. Tomas was instrumental in
helping Jaki as well by encouraging him to get his first
cochlear implant, and then by raffling off his own race
helmet to raise funds for the second (bilateral)
implant.
The highlight of the night will occur when 1-year-old
Daniel Marshall, who was identified at birth with
profound hearing loss, is presented with a “bionic ear”
(or cochlear implant) donation from the GOHF in
partnership with US-based cochlear implant manufacturer,
Advanced Bionics. The award will be co-presented by Mr.
Scheckter and his cousin Jaki. Daniel will be scheduled
for surgery in the autumn.
“Advanced Bionics and funds raised at
this event provide us with an opportunity to allow one
more child to hear his mother say ‘I love you’,” adds
Eileen Jones, president and founder of GOHF. “For that
we cannot thank our supporters enough.”
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Daniel Marshall, 2007
Cochlear Implant recipient
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Originally fitted with hearing aids
at the age of 4 months, Daniel experienced no
significant hearing benefits. Wanting Daniel to hear the
world around him, his parents hoped that by availing
their son to cochlear implant technology he would hear.
Daniel’s journey to sound came to a sudden halt when his
parents learned their health insurance provider denied
coverage of the device and surgery. Unable to afford the
enormous bill that accompanied the device and procedure,
they turned to the
Let
Them Hear Foundation’s Insurance Advocacy Program.
Since the earlier a child receives a cochlear implant,
the better, and since the legal battle with the
Marshall’s health insurance company was proving to be a
lengthy one, the Let Them Hear Foundation enlisted the
help of the Gift of Hearing Foundation to make it
possible for Daniel to receive a cochlear implant in a
timely manner.
“When we received the phone call that alerted us that
our son was to receive this gift of hearing, we were
overjoyed! We are so thrilled that our son will be able
to complete his journey to a world filled with sound. He
will now know clearly the warmth and love in our
voices,” said Kimberly Marshall, Daniel’s mother.
Daniel will join over 100,000 individuals worldwide who
currently benefit from cochlear implant technology.
Daniel’s cochlear implant will enable him to hear by
allowing sound to bypass the damaged parts of his ear to
directly stimulate his auditory nerve within the inner
ear.
The gala
will take place on September 15th, 2007 from 5:30-10:00
pm at The Collings Foundation, in Stow, Massachusetts.
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