Four-year-old deaf boy undergoes ear implant

MANILA, Philippines – When Raphael “Ranger” Provido turns five on Nov. 19, he will be introduced to a whole new world of sound and music.

For the first time, he will hear his parents and friends sing “Happy Birthday.”

And Ranger, who had a successful cochlear implant at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) last Wednesday, will begin to discover a whole new world of sound.

“The operation went well, and we are all hoping that Ranger will finally be able to hear,” the boy’s father, Judd, said.

When he wakes up in the morning, Ranger will have the opportunity to hear the cocks crow, the dogs bark, and maybe, even the whispering wind as his parents accompany him to the park or beach.

“It is indeed a perfect advance birthday gift,” said Judd and Jenny Provido, parents of the young boy.

Born on Nov. 19, 2003, Ranger had the “loudest wail among other babies” at the ceasarian section of the Manila Sanitarium Hospital, his parents recalled.

The couple were ecstatic about their firstborn, who weighed 5.15 pounds and measured 18.75 inches long.

But their happiness soon became a challenge on learning of their son’s condition, but this did not deter them from giving Ranger unqualified love and care.

“We never lost hope. We waited and prayed for this to happen,” Judd said in an interview hours after the team of doctors, led by otorhinolaryngologist Dr. Nathaniel Yang assisted by Drs. Loreto Felizar and Generoso Abes, operated on Ranger at the Centro Optamologico of the PGH after hospital officials and Sen. Loren Legarda signed a memorandum of agreement to help underwrite the cost of the boy’s surgery.

Legarda appropriated some P400,000 from her Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for Ranger’s operation.

The boy’s mother, Jenny, said the doctors will turn on the implant in stages starting next month, after the wounds caused by the head operation have healed.

Ranger will then undergo speech and hearing therapy sessions to enable him to catch up with his hearing and speech abilities.

“He seems a normal boy when you see him. He smiles, waves, and is friendly to people. Only when he speaks does one notice his defects,” his parents said.

“Dad,” “Mom,” “open” and “ba-bye” are the few words that he has learned to say, but Ranger demonstrates his emotions and feelings for his parents through actions.

Hours after the operation, Ranger was already up and about, embracing his parents.

“We’re enjoying our time with him now, just eager to wait for all the possibilities,” Judd said.

During our visit, Ranger gave us a big smile and thumbs up sign to show that he was okay, despite the huge bandage on his head.

When the dextrose tube was removed from his left hand, Ranger led visitors to the table for one of his favorite pasttimes – drawing and coloring.

Judd said Ranger has always been a happy, although sometimes moody, boy.

“But he knows how to communicate. He is curious and observant, also very assertive. You will just have to learn to understand his world,” Judd said. 

The couple has started a personal advocacy to increase awareness of deaf-mute children. “We do not really understand why until we have this in our midst. Now, Ranger has taught us to be aware and we want everyone to also be aware on how to deal with this situation,” Judd said.

Jenny is now vice-president of Kamay and Boses Pilipinas, patterned after the US-based Hands and Voices America, a foundation working for the welfare of deaf-mute children.

The couple was happy when they informed The STAR early this week that Ranger’s operation had been set after a long six-month wait.

Legarda had chosen the boy as recipient of the cochlear implantation. She met the boy last Jan. 27 at the Senate during her 48th birthday party. “I am just happy for the boy. Imagine, he can now have better life and future, better opportunities,” Legarda said.

Dr. Yang has done cochlear implants on about 60 patients at the PGH. But Ranger is the 25th recipient in the country in the past 10 years since Cochlear Implants of Australia started to open its doors for the distribution of its product here.

Early this year, Legarda asked her staff to look for a recipient when she thought of initiating a project for the deaf and mute.

“Instead of funneling millions of pesos to an electoral campaign, I think I should start (helping) hearing impaired children,” said Legarda, who wants to help at least 1,000 children a year.

In a statement yesterday, the senator expressed her wish for the success of the cochlear implant of Ranger.

She allocated $5,500 of her priority development assistance fund to fund the operation. She visited the boy yesterday before the patient was released.

In all, she pooled P1 million with the help of her friends to cover the cost of the cochlear implant provided by its distributor Gruppo Technico Medico International Inc. on a 70-percent discount.

“We’ll be waiting next month when the device is switched on. My wish is for Ranger to fully regain his sense of hearing,” she said.

“This operation would not have been possible if not for the help of so many people and groups,” she added.

Unlike a hearing aid which amplifies sound, a cochlear bypasses damaged ear tissues to directly stimulate hearing nerves. A pair of implants costs $20,000.

Judd and Jenny, who work in a call center, have enrolled their child at the Joseph Gualandi School for Hearing Impaired Inc. in BF Homes, Las Piñas, where the Philippine distributor of cochlear implant introduces the device for adults and children with moderate to profound hearing loss.

The couple remains optimistic that the operation will help their son live like a normal child.

They noted that Ranger excels in his school, named after its founder, Fr. Joseph Gualandi, a Bologna-based mission at the forefront of educating and administering to the hearing-impaired “from cradle to grave” since 1874.

In an earlier interview, Engr. Guillermo Mallillin, president of Gruppo Technico Medico International, said: “We have chosen (Raphael) from a shortlist provided by the school for the kids.”

Since the post-operation therapy and sessions would still be costly, Gruppo marketing director Manny Dacpano said the recipient/s may not be necessarily poor, explaining that the healing period takes about a year after the operation and before the child adapts to the device.                     

“There is a need to regularly see a speech pathologist and manage the child at a clinic school so that this operation will be maximized and really be beneficial to the recipient,” Dacpano said. – Christina Mendez