A heartwarming video captures the moment a baby born with congenital deafness hears his parents’ voices for the first time after the activation of a cochlear implant.
George Pfaffman was born on November 27, 2023, to Sarah, 21, and Cole Pfaffman, 26. Sarah unknowingly passed on a virus she contracted during pregnancy to George, affecting his hearing and brain development.
As a result, George was born completely deaf, with abnormal development in the left side of his brain leading to right-sided hemiplegia. Despite these challenges, George thrived with the support of his parents. On October 15, his cochlear implant was activated, bringing joy and hope to his whole family.
“The moment George’s cochlear implant was activated felt like Christmas, and every day since then has felt like Christmas,” said Sarah, a full-time mom from Jacksonville, Florida. “It feels like a gift from God, like a miracle, and now, a whole new world has opened up for George. He loves it. Everything is so fresh and exciting!”
Every day, George is rapidly catching up on the time he lost before and discovering new sounds.
“He enjoys watching things he used to watch before, like the washing machine and vacuum cleaner, and discovering the sounds that accompany them,” Sarah said. “He especially loves trying to speak and listening to music.”
George was born at 35 weeks and was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he failed his hearing tests.
After leaving the NICU, his parents took him to an audiologist, who discovered he had severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss – meaning he could not hear at all.
“Then he had to wear hearing aids for four months. We wanted to see if the hearing aids would help, but we weren’t lucky,” Sarah said. Ultimately, on September 23 of this year, George underwent surgery to have the cochlear implant installed, with activation of the implant three weeks later.
While the cochlear implant has brought significant changes to their lives, Sarah still feels regretful because George’s virus was treatable, but the doctors did not warn her.
During her pregnancy, Sarah contracted cytomegalovirus, mistaking it for a common cold and not realizing the harm it would cause to George.
“I was very let down by the medical professionals around me at the time. I had no idea that the cold I had could be harmful to my child,” she said. “I now go for counseling every week to deal with the emotional struggle of facing the hurt caused to George because of my illness.”
Despite the emotional hurdles, the cochlear implant George received now gives him the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life with the unconditional support of his parents.