I thought I would introduce you to my deaf cousin, because I will be mentioning her more often.
Her name is Kellie, and she is 16 years old. Her story is very similar to mine. She was born deaf and she got a cochlear implant. Her cochlear implant is very successful and she is actually thinking about getting a second implant. She is very active. She is a great basketball player. She plays on her high school team. She speaks very well, and is currently taking ASL at school.
We are super close because on my dad's side I don't have any girl cousins that are my age. Growing up we loved having sleepovers!
I love having a deaf cousin because I have someone that understands exactly what I am going through. Nobody else gets it like she does. We have conversations all the time about being deaf. We talk about the positive stuff, as well as the annoying stuff. She gets it because she goes through the same thing I am going through.
If I ever have a rough day because of my deafness, I text Kellie. I tell her what happened, and she always replies with what I need to hear. I talk to my parents, but I prefer talking to Kellie because she understands. I can't stress how important it is to me to have someone who understands what I'm going through. It helps me realize that there are other people in the world that have the same struggles as I do. I'm so thankful that I have someone close to me that I can talk to whenever I want to.
