Little Lotte and her special ears

Everyone except her adorable bundle of pink perfection, her new daughter Lotte, who was just a couple of days old who was born profoundly deaf.

The routine Newborn Hearing Screen was just another tick off the checklist before being able to go home, as Kelsey and her husband Cody were keen to get back to their two other daughters, Marli, 5, and Lacey, 3.

That was, until it turned their world upside down with one short sentence – Lotte failed the hearing test.

“Imagine you have recently given birth to your beautiful little babe who you have been carrying, growing and nurturing for the past nine months in your womb,” Kelsey said.

“That new-born bubble has now surrounded and engulfed you and you are completely in awe of this perfect little human life you have created.

“Now imagine being informed that your beautiful little babe has just failed their routine Newborn Hearing Screen and that you require urgent referral to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) for further investigation and early intervention.

“The news left us crushed and completely devastated – it was an instant sense of loss.”

Kelsey and Cody had to wait until Lotte was six weeks old to travel from their home in Esperance to Perth, so the doctors at PMH could conduct an Auditory Brain Response test.

This was when they received confirmation that Lotte was profoundly, bilaterally deaf.

“I just remember thinking about all the possibilities that were instantly taken away from her,” she said.

“How would she cope at school?

“How will she mentally and emotionally cope with being deaf?

“How will she play sport or go swimming?

“So many questions engulfed me and it was an instant sense of loss.

“However, during this time my husband and I also agreed to not let Lotte’s disability define her.”

The couple decided she would not be treated any different to her older siblings and would be exposed to and given every opportunity possible.

Lotte was fitted with bilateral hearing aids at 11 weeks old as routine first stage intervention, but unfortunately had no response to them.

The next step was to wait until she was old enough to receive cochlear implants and that time came when Lotte was only seven and a half months old, when she underwent a massive three and a half hour surgery at PMH.

She was fitted with bilateral cochlear implants and the Brownings had to wait a further two weeks until Lotte’s ‘special ears’ could be switched on.

“It was such an emotional rollercoaster waiting for her intended cochlear implant surgery,” Kelsey said.

“The day of her ‘switch on’ was one of the most incredibly amazing days of our lives and definitely a priceless gift and precious moment.

“The first 12 months of Lotte’s life consisted of fortnightly and monthly trips from Esperance to Perth, which was a massive effort, but never too much if it meant she would have the best start at life.”

Lotte is now 18-months-old and is just like any other cheeky toddler.

Her language, listening and communication skills are developing and improving every day, and apart from needing two cochlear implants to help her hear, she is the same as any other healthy 18-month-old child.

After Lotte’s challenging start to life, Kelsey recently decided to self-publish her own children’s book, ‘Our little sister Lotte and her special ears’ to inform and educate others about deafness and cochlear implants.

As a qualified registered nurse, Kelsey had never written a book before but wanted to spread the message, purely from her heart as a mother.

She chose to self-publish to keep her product local, enlisting the help of a very talented friend who has her own brand design business, to share the process with her and make it more personal.

“‘Our little sister Lotte and her special ears’ is written from a child’s perspective, so it could be interpreted and understood by children to educate them on deafness and cochlear implants, but also emphasise qualities such as difference, kindness and acceptance,” Kelsey said.

“I wanted the generation of children growing up around Lotte and her two older sisters to be aware and educated on these important qualities.

“I believe education is so empowering and that we all learn to accept something when we have a better understanding what it is used for.

“I want children to understand and accept that we all have differences, that differences are ok and what make us interesting.

“My book has been driven solely by love and willingness to help spread awareness and to create understanding for my beautiful little girl.”

And it seems the Esperance community has responded, with the first print run selling out fast, and a second print run needed to fill the orders coming from people and primary schools all over Australia and even New Zealand.

“I didn’t expect to sell as many copies as I have, as I only targeted family and friends at first,” Kelsey said.

“But I have been completely blown away at how far this little book is already travelling and spreading awareness.

“It is so humbling and heart-warming.”