By Amanda Guillen
The first El Paso Children’s Hospital patient to benefit from complete care all the way to cochlear implant surgery is 2-year-old Josias Valenzuela.
Josias’ journey with hearing loss began at birth, when he failed to pass his hearing tests.
Carolina Valenzuela is Josias’ mother. She said he has brought so much light and love to their family.
“Ever since he was born he has been such a calm baby, regardless of where we are at he is always so happy,” Carolina said.
The journey has been filled with several medical visits, along with high hopes.
Carolina said as soon as her family stepped into El Paso Children’s Hospital, they knew they found the right fit for their son.
“There was a point that we were referred here to El Paso Children’s Hospital with Dr. Chiao and it was a blessing. They have helped us so much,” she said.
Carolina said one of the first steps on Josias’ journey with El Paso Children’s Hospital was getting his hearing aids, another service offered by the specialty hospital. This happened quickly after his first appointment.
The next step was the option of cochlear implant surgery. Josias was deemed a candidate.
“With hearing loss there are a lot of conflicts that may come along the way. So with that cochlear implant, hopefully he will finally be able to start saying some words – maybe hear a ‘Mama’ somewhere in there. All I know is this will be very good for him and his future,” Carolina said.
The El Paso Children’s Hospital Ear, Nose and Throat team s led by Dr. Jonathan Chiao, an ENT-otolaryngologist; audiologists Amanda Chiao and Manuel Vicente; and a full staff of medical professionals who provide specialized, life-changing care to children across a 350-mile radius.
In years past, local families would have to travel out of town to receive this type of specialized care.
“We are ready as a hospital to provide these services in-house and that’s a big deal for our community. Our community is greatly underserved with pediatric audiologists and cochlear implant audiologists,” Amanda Chiao said.
Chiao was born and raised in El Paso and now is proud to serve her hometown.
After a few months under the care of El Paso Children’s Hospital, the Valenzuela family began to prepare for surgery.
The cochlear implant is an electronic device that consists of an external and internal portion, with the internal portion implanted through surgery under the skin. The external portion – placed during the activation portion of the process – is a device that is placed behind the ear.
Josias underwent bilateral implantation – meaning two cochlear implants – performed by Jonathan Chiao.
Two weeks after this surgery, Josias and his family went through the activation process for the external device with Amanda Chiao.
After a successful activation, Josias will continue working with his auditory-verbal speech therapist and his audiologist to help integrate sound into his life and make sense of speech.
“It’s a long journey and it’s something that we talk really early on with our families about – getting a cochlear implant as a lifelong journey. The internal part, the inside part, is meant to be with them forever. And the outside can change. But the idea is that this is how they hear, and this is how they communicate in the world,” Amanda Chiao said.
Learn more about El Paso Children’s Hospital.
