Changsha, April 24 (Xinhua) -- As night fell, the lively night market was full of people, and the couple communicated with customers through gestures and typing...... At the Sifangping Night Market in Changsha, Hunan Province, Zhang Yongsheng and Zhan Jingwen run an "egg waffle" food stall, and they and their daughter Zhang Yuhan are both hearing-impaired.
At the beginning of this year, the self-media blogger "Cai Cai" recorded the story of Zhang Yongsheng's family: In 2017, Zhang Yongsheng came to Changsha from Beijing, first as a delivery rider, and then as a general worker in the factory, during which he met Zhan Jingwen, who also worked in the factory, and later the two started a family and gave birth to a daughter in 2019.
Self-media blogger "Cai Cai" took photos for Zhang Yongsheng's family when they were out of the stall. Xinhua News Agency
After getting married, the couple set up a stall to sell popcorn and toys, and with the help of their savings and the support of relatives and friends, they implanted a cochlear implant in their daughter's left ear when she was more than two years old, and wore a hearing aid in her right ear, and the couple relied on sign language to communicate. "Cochlear implants are so expensive that my wife and I can't hear them, but our daughter must," Zhang said. ”
The story spread, and the concern and encouragement from all walks of life flocked to Zhang Yongsheng's family, and he and his wife received hearing aids donated by caring people. On January 8 this year, Zhang Yongsheng's 32nd birthday, he adjusted his hearing aids, and after picking up his daughter in kindergarten, he heard his daughter call him "Dad" for the first time. Later, the family also boarded the Changsha branch of the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Dragon, and many netizens came to their food stall to "check in".
In mid-March, with the help and support of a cochlear company, Zhang Yongsheng and his family went to the Eye and Otolaryngology Hospital of Fudan University for cochlear implant surgery, and their daughter's right ear was implanted with a cochlear implant, and the couple was unilaterally implanted. After nearly a month of recuperation, on April 22, the three of them had their first start-up and debugging after cochlear implant surgery in Changsha, and as the cochlear implants were opened in turn, the three heard each other's voices.
On March 18, Zhang Yongsheng's family finished cutting their hair before surgery. Xinhua News Agency
"Repeat to me, apples, oranges, bananas ......" Wu Zili, clinical technical director of AB Cochlea, used some simple nouns to guide Zhang Yongsheng to speak at the commissioning site. He relied on the speaker's mouth shape to read what the other person was saying, and his speech recognition ability needed to be gradually restored through training. Wu Zili said, "He can already perceive ordinary ambient sounds and the sounds made by objects." ”
On April 22, Zhang Yongsheng's family was commissioned at AB Cochlear Hunan Service Center. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Zhenhai
Wu Weijing, a professor at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, witnessed the cochlear start-up of the three people at the scene. Ng Wai-king, the medical expert who performed Zhang's first cochlear implant surgery, said: "Good hearing not only helps parents communicate more effectively with their children, but also allows them to better understand their children's needs and emotions. ”
Zhang Yongsheng's family heard each other's voices after the cochlear implant was turned on and commissioned.
Bidding farewell to the silent world, Zhang Yongsheng has to gradually adapt to the new life of sound - he has to prepare to re-open the stall before the May Day holiday, and change the name of the store "Silent Burst Egg Waffle" to "Sound Burst Egg Waffle".
In another year, her daughter will enter primary school, and Zhang Yongsheng expects her to learn to sing and dance, make more new friends, "just like children of the same age". After his income stabilizes, he also plans to send his daughter to a professional rehabilitation institution, and he and his wife will gradually improve their language skills under the "guidance" of their daughter and accompany their daughter to grow up healthily.