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Last February, Kevin
Frost asked Citizen
readers for help and
they responded. The
deaf-blind speed skater
quickly met his goal of
raising $3,000 to help a
profoundly deaf Mexican
boy who had never
uttered a word.
The Mexican Embassy in
Ottawa also responded
and waived the usual
duties charged for
shipping the hearing
aids across the border.
By March, 11-year-old
Alfredo had received the
aids and begun speech
therapy lessons. His
first word was "mama."
Alfredo's progress has
been rapid. He is now
communicating at the
level of an 8-year-old.
Frost is returning to
the resort town of
Cancun in October, not
just to see Alfredo, but
to continue his aid
efforts.
"I started the ball
rolling and now I can
continue my mission to
help other children."
Frost was in Cancun last
year on vacation, taking
a breather between
rowing and speedskating
seasons. A missionary
who noticed Frost's
hearing aid brought him
to Alfredo. Frost
grasped immediately how
much his help was
needed.
With the same missionary
working as liaison,
Frost's next goal is to
help a young blind girl.
"I think I have a little
bit of a gift to help
just because I've gone
through it," he said.
At age 34, he was
diagnosed with Type 2
Usher Syndrome, a
degenerative genetic
condition affecting
vision and hearing. Now,
he has tunnel vision and
can see only four per
cent of the normal
visual range. Sound has
to register about 90
decibels for him to hear
it, which the American
Speech Language Hearing
Association likens to
the volume of a lawn
mower. Frost mainly uses
lip-reading to
compensate for his
hearing loss.
Frost's limitations have
not stopped him from
pursuing his dream of
being one of the world's
top five speed skaters
in his age class. And
now, his dream-big
mentality is helping him
bring about change in
the lives of others.
"It is very gratifying
when you can help heal
people. I will continue
to do that as long as I
can."
To donate to the fund, please
contact Kevin Frost at:
kevin-nemo@hotmail.com
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