We have been supporters of Variety for over 20 years and never thought that we would require their help for one of our children. Our youngest son, Kai, was born deaf and had surgery for a Cochlear implant just before his second birthday. At that time we cashed in our RRSPs and approached our family for help with the travel and hotel costs for two trips to Toronto for the surgery.
Five years later we were faced with the decision of upgrading Kai’s cumbersome equipment to the more advanced Freedom Processor at a cost of $6700 US. We were struggling to work out how we would come up with the funds for the new equipment when Kai’s teaching assistant suggested approaching Variety - The Children’s Charity.
One phone call to Variety, and the paper work was started. They were extremely helpful with the application process and made all the arrangements with Cochlear for a trade-in on Kai’s old equipment and followed up with phone calls.
Variety has not only given Kai the Freedom, but our entire family has benefited from this generous gift. The new processor gives Kai the opportunity to be like any other active eight year old. As parents it has greatly reduced our stress over having to cut corners in an already tight budget allowing us to focus on our family.
Thank you Variety for everything you have done for Kai and our family. It has made a world of a difference for all of us!
