DANCING WITH JOY AT SOUND OF MUSIC
A GOLD Coast parent is urging soon-to-be-mums to get tested for a virus while pregnant after her daughter was born deaf.
Ami Silk said her daughter, Willow Taylor, was three-monthsold when they discovered why she had been born profoundly deaf.
Early in Ms Silk’s pregnancy she had Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus that can seem like a common cold but targets the brain.
CMV can affect pregnancy in many ways, whether it causes preterm birth, low birth weight or hearing loss at birth or later in life.
“When Willow was born she failed five hearing tests,” Ms Silk said. “Our hearts dropped. We were in shock and overwhelmed.
“When Willow was three months old they went back to the dry blood spot test and found she was born with CMV.”
Sevens month later, Hear and Say gave her the gift of sound, bilateral cochlear implants.
“Her eyes lit up as soon as she heard us say ‘Willow’,” Ms Silk said. “We both cried. It was … like seeing Christmas lights for the first time.”
Ms Silk said she was unaware of the impact of the virus when she was pregnant and hoped others learnt from her experience.
“Go to your doctor and get an extra screen test, it is just a simple blood test,” she said.
“Willow now dances and claps when she hears music.”