On July 9, 2015, our grandson, Hudson, was born deaf. In the middle of our joy over his birth, we were devastated to hear our grandson was deaf. What would this mean for him? How would he navigate life? What kind of hardship would this put on him and his family? 
Those questions, like all the “what-ifs” we contemplate and stress over, were soon alleviated. Looking at our perfectly formed grandson, we knew God would bless him and his family beyond measure. He would be our joy in all life’s circumstances.
Within months of his birth, his parents were already talking to specialists and looking into ways to help Hudson live beyond his deafness in the fullness of God’s blessings. But Hudson’s options were limited.
Cochlear implants were brought up for consideration. There was a lot of prayer and research, more prayer, more talking to specialists, more prayer before Hudson’s parents decided to proceed with cochlear implants.
The first surgical attempt failed, leaving everyone dismayed and disillusioned. In the healing time before another attempt to implant the cochlears, there was a lot of tears and prayers, a lot more talks with specialists, more research, more tears, and then the final decision to proceed with a second attempt.
On January 24, 2017 Hudson went back into surgery. His parents watched their eighteen-month old son being wheeled back into surgery. Questions and “what-ifs” poured over them, but they stood tall in their faith and in their decision through prayer to proceed with surgery #2. 
Hudson rebounded from the surgery which the surgeon acknowledged was a success surgically. Now began the wait to see if they would work for Hudson. There were no guarantees. Prayers continued, acknowledged by people far and wide who had started praying for Hudson soon after he was born and continued to pray for him through his surgeries. 
At first, we weren’t sure the cochlear were going to work, even though the specialist acknowledged that their testing showed the cochlear were responding to Hudson’s brain waves and vice-versa. I admit I was skeptical. For months I saw little response.
Then it happened. All of a sudden Hudson was responding. His verbal skills were minimal, but we understood that would happen as the cochlear and brain began responding. To Hudson’s parents and family, the blessing was a miracle. Our baby boy would one day be able to communicate with others. He would be able to hear the words, “I love you!” (That was my daughter’s first concern. “Mama, will he ever hear my voice? Will he ever hear me say, “I love you!”)
In March 2018, Hudson began going to a special preschool established by the deaf school in Norfolk, VA. The preschool, set up in a normal elementary school, would have hearing impaired children, children with cochlear implants, and children with full hearing capabilities. We worried about Hudson integrating into the situation run by therapists and support personnel in a strange setting. He was not even three years old. 
Well, that baby walked right into that school with his backpack over his shoulder and waved his mother a goodbye. He loved school from the beginning. 
Fourteen months later on May 15, 2019, my daughter received a note from Hudson’s teacher.“We love to hear the kids talking! However, today Hudson was talking during stories, poems, and other listening activities. We don’t want him to miss out on a new language. So we are working on having him wait to make comments in group settings. (Did you ever think you’d get a note like this 3 years ago?)”