Heather Whitestone: Living With Deafness

Living with deafness: Heather Whitestone Growing up or becoming deaf may cause people to not achieve very much throughout their lifetime or it could give motivation to achieve great things. For example, Heather Whitestone was deaf throughout all her life. People did not think she was capable of accomplishing big things, but she proved them wrong (Bates). Commonly people will think they will not accomplishment much because they are deaf, and often they are wrong. Even though someone has major disadvantages, they can do whatever they set their mind to. Deafness is when a person’s hearing is impaired and they can hardly hear or not at all. As children, they usually do not know how to speak unlike others their age. Furthermore, they may also

Her parents found out she was deaf on December 24, 1974. She had a very high fever so they went to the hospital where the doctor prescribed very strong antibiotics. A few months later she was brought back because her mother suspected something was wrong. The doctors had found the H. Influenza virus in Heather’s blood and later in both of her ears. She was told she would not achieve more than a third grade education and would not develop much verbal speech because she suffered major hearing loss (Bates). Heather was affected in many ways both physically and mentally. It was really hard for her to learn in her early years of schooling because she went to a hearing school. She did not have many friends and felt excluded around others. Popularity was an issue and she felt very isolated. Her yearbook, that she was only in once, really brought her down emotionally. She went to a hearing school and that’s why it was such a struggle to fit in

Helen Keller was a big one, and she had admired her throughout her life (Miss America Org.). Her family, who also inspired her a lot, taught her to work hard and never give up. They strived to see Heather succeed in life and tried their best to make sure she did (Premiere Speakers). Her mother had enrolled her in dancing school in 1978 and that affected her big time (Bates). She had learned to dance by counting beats to music, which had struck a match in her desire to overcome obstacles. There were many ways that Heather brought attention to herself and her disability. She was the first woman with a disability ever to be crowned Miss America at that time. She also wrote three books called Listening With My Heart, Believing The Promise, and Heavenly Crowns. Her accomplishments were recognized by many media organizations like the NBC Today Show, ABC, CBS, and CNN. Her story had also been narrated by many magazines like Times and People. In conclusion, deafness is a disability that affects millions of people around the world, but with hard work and dedication anyone can do great in life. Heather was an outstanding woman who was determined to accomplish her dreams. Her disability gave her the motivation to go very far in life and she would not change anything about it. Hopefully more people will learn to have a positive attitude like Heather