|
Ottawa deaf-blind
athlete Kevin Frost
knows what it means to
work outside his comfort
zone. He's been doing it
most of his life.
So when he met a deaf
boy while vacationing in
Mexico last year, he was
determined to help him
find his own way of
working outside his
comfort zone too.
Kevin Frost has passed
the halfway point of
raising $3,000 to buy
two new hearing aids for
11-year-old Alfredo,
whom he met in October.
During his break between
rowing season and
speed-skating season,
Mr. Frost, his
girlfriend and another
friend travelled to
Cancun for a little sun
and relaxation. While
there, Ivonne Castillo,
a woman who works as a
missionary in the Cancun
area, noticed Mr.
Frost's hearing aid and
asked him for tips on
how to interact with
deaf and hard of hearing
people, because she
worked with a deaf boy
in a nearby village who
had never spoken a word.
Mr. Frost has Type 2
Usher Syndrome, a
genetic condition that
has left him with
90-per-cent hearing loss
and only five per cent
of his field of vision.
This challenge has not
stopped him from
breaking records in
short- and long-track
speed skating. He is
ranked 19th in the world
against able-bodied
skaters.
His goal has always been
to draw more public
awareness toward the
disabled, and help them
shed their inhibitions
and pursue their dreams.
So it was a given that
Mr. Frost offered to
take his efforts a step
further and actually
travel to the village
with the aid worker to
meet with the boy and
his family.
"I said, 'Why don't we
go and meet Alfredo?'"
said Mr. Frost. "She
(Ms. Castillo) said,
'You'd do that?' I said
of course I will,
because I know how much
of a difference
(communication
techniques) can make in
someone's life."
Little did he know how
much.
The night before he left
to meet Alfredo, Mr.
Frost did a presentation
at his resort and
managed to raise $100
from guests to help
bring food and other
necessities to the boy's
village.
It wasn't until they
arrived at the Mayan
village that he realized
just how much the
village was in need.
With no electricity,
toilets, or access to
proper medical care, it
was in stark contrast to
their vacation resort in
Cancun, about 150
kilometres away.
"When we get to the
village, we realized
that this is a village
of people who live
really poor," said Mr.
Frost. "Like, every
house you see is
10-by-10, and cement
walls and there is
bamboo all over the
roof."
While there, Mr. Frost,
who reads lips, gave his
skating card and some
shirts to Alfredo. After
some time together, he
proposed the boy try his
hearing device.
"Out of the blue, I said
to (the mission worker)
Ivonne, 'Ivonne why
don't we let Alfredo try
my hearing aid on'," he
said. "And Ivonne said,
'That will work?' And I
said, 'Yeah, that will
work.'"
When she placed the
hearing aid on Alfredo's
ear, Mr. Frost said, the
boy's face lit up.
The group starting
making clapping sounds
around him to see if he
would respond.
"He had never heard a
sound and for the first
time, he could hear a
sound that he had never
heard before ... and
Alfredo had a big smile
realizing he had put two
and two together, that
he can hear."
Mr. Frost said the
turning point came when
Alfredo's mother patted
her chest and said
"mama" repeatedly. After
the fifth time, Alfredo
responded: "Mama."
"He is 11 years old
(and) never heard and
never spoken before.
That was, like, the
goosebumps come out and
Alfredo's mom came and
hugged me, and everybody
is just hugging each
other because that's an
amazing transition,
hearing his voice for
the first time."
Overwhelmed by the
experience, Mr. Frost is
now dedicated to raising
$3,000 to provide new
hearing aids and ongoing
tests for Alfredo. In
the meantime, he has
given the boy access to
a used hearing device.
So far Mr. Frost raised
$1,800 in Ottawa toward
his goal. He collecting
e-mails of supporters so
he can send photos of
Alfredo with his new
hearing aids -- and keep
them updated on his
ongoing progress.
"That was the highlight
of the whole trip. The
sun, the water, that
doesn't mean anything,
that (helping Alfredo)
was like winning a gold
medal," said Mr. Frost,
who promotes the notion
of people giving 10 per
cent of their time to
help others.
"That just shows, when
you pay attention to the
needs that we can
accommodate, we can make
a difference in our
lifetime."
If you would like to
help the fund, please
contact Kevin Frost at:
kevin-nemo@hotmail.com
|