“She’s got some discharge, and it’s a bit pink in there. Has she had ear infections before?”
Carli sat with Parker on her lap while Annie chatted with the instructor about class days and times. Blake continued talking with the mom of the sick child. He was patient and caring with both of them. Too many doctors were factual and informative but lacked a good bedside manner.
It was obvious he loved children, not only from how he dealt with this child, but how he interacted with his nephew. Probably why he went into pediatrics. Watching men with children always made her melt. Why did it have to be with this man? It would be much easier if she could continue to be aggravated with him instead of attracted to him.
Chapter three
“I’m surprised most of the babies there were hearing.” Blake spoke slowly, hoping Carli could understand what he was saying. It was dark in the car, and she couldn’t see his lips. The implants should help, but he’d noticed her leaning her head in his direction when he spoke. The more he’d been with her and talked to her, the more he realized CIs weren’t a cure-all. It was her absolute concentration on the people around her that made her almost flawless in her comprehension of what was going on.
“These classes are very popular with hearing parents, as well, to help them communicate with their infants and toddlers. They’re all the rage.”
“Apparently so.” There had only been one other deaf child there, or so it seemed when the instructor had asked.
“Lots of parents think it will make their babies smarter.” The annoyed tone in Carli’s voice surprised him.
“Does it?”
“It gives them a language to use and helps them communicate better. That makes it easier for the parents to get answers from their children at an earlier age. I’m not sure about smarter, but they’re unquestionably more language enriched.”
“So where are all the deaf children? Is there a different class specifically for them?”
Carli’s snort told him the answer before she spoke. “If a deaf child has Deaf parents, there’s no need for sign classes. The parents simply teach them the way a hearing parent teaches a hearing child language. By using it.”
That made sense. “And the deaf children with hearing parents?” Like his brother and Annie.
“Honestly, many doctors will tell these parents not to teach them to sign. They say it will stunt their language development.” Her tone of voice told him exactly what she thought of that advice.
“You don’t believe that?”
“Language is more than just speech. These doctors are thinking of oral language. Most people think that. But language is more than simply being able to talk. It’s how we communicate. It’s getting ideas across and knowing what others mean. No offense, but most doctors don’t have an in-depth knowledge of language development.”
What was she talking about? Of course he’d learned about language development. He was a pediatrician for Pete’s sake. He knew what the milestones were for all the typical check-ups. Yet, after further thought, he realized maybe she was right. To a point. He knew what children should be doing at different ages, buthowthey developed that language wasn’t really studied in great detail. Too many other things to learn.
“I’m not sure what I’d tell the parents of my patients. I haven’t run into this before. Parker is my first deaf or hard of hearing child, and I pretty much had to dig through medical journals to get information for that.”
“Being at BGH, I’m sure you’ll run into quite a variety in your job.”
While it was true he was still new to being a physician, after so many years in school he felt he should know it all. Naturally, he didn’t. He never would. One great professor had told them that.You can’t possibly know everything, but you can learn where to get the information.
“You were great with that little girl with the ear infection. I could tell the mom was really appreciative of your stepping in and helping.”
“Did she say something to you?” She’d thanked him but had seemed preoccupied with the sick child.
Carli chuckled. “No, but I could tell by the way she interacted and her facial expressions. She was relieved. Body language. When you can’t hear, you learn to observe people closely. Pick up on silent cues. When one sense doesn’t work, the others compensate.”
“But you have hearing now. That helps, right?”
Her sigh echoed in the enclosed space. “I now have some access to the auditory world, but I don’t have what most people would call hearing. It’s a big misconception with CIs. It takes a lot of effort to process the sounds that my CIs pick up. And I don’t always get it right. Even after ten years. Many hearing people think I hear just like they do. I don’t. It’s very mechanical, and often background noise gets in the way so I can’t separate the sounds.”
“Do you regret getting them?” This was important information that Annie and Harrison should know. Would their child thank them or hate them for making the decision for him?
It took a moment for her to answer. “No, I don’t regret it. It’s opened up many doors for me, and there are some things I love being able to hear. But it is challenging. That’s why I became an advocate. My job is not to encourage people to get CIs, but to help them make an informed decision. To give them all the facts. The good and the bad. There’s plenty of both.”
“Thank you for that.” She didn’t have to give her free time to help others, but he was beginning to realize it was her nature.
“Take this next left,” Carli said after the car had been silent for a while. Turning onto the street, he realized her house was only a few ahead, according to his GPS.
“You live here?” He stopped in front of a two-family that could use a coat of paint and some serious maintenance.
