Blabberings

Chapter One

http://blabberingsbyceleste.com/2014/06/05/corans-ears/

Chapter Two

“Oh, Celeste, it was a wonderful day. I am so glad I could be a part of it!”

Viney hired a friend to drive Coran, his mommy Nicole, and herself to the Jamaican Christian School for the Deaf that morning. They left Hamilton Mountain at 6 am. They drove down the mountain to Ocho Rios, around the island to Montego Bay, and back up the mountain to the school. Coran tested for implants and passed the test administered by the audiologists.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzg8CscP7mRjLWg5LUdCaEQ0Mmc/edit

He returned home with one hearing aid. (I don’t know why only one.) His mommy received instructions on how to care for it and how to help him differentiate sounds.

I asked Viney if it was obvious that he heard something with it on. She said, “Oh, yes!!” She said he was “adaptable.” She said he did everything asked of him with his ever-present smile.

Plans were made for him to return in July for grade placement at the school and to begin the fall term in September.

Viney: There is a fee for the school. It is about $6,000 per term.
Me: (gulping, eyes bulging) Is a term one year?
Viney: No, a term is four months.
Me: (panting) So, there are 2 terms in a year?
Viney: No, three. (Listen with a Jamaican accent, and you’ll hear her say “tree” instead of “three.”)
Me: (calculating, blinking uncontrollably, struggling to breathe, trying to think of something coherent to say) . . .
Viney: . . . Jamaican dollars.
Me: SIXTY American dollars?!?! Two hundred dollars a year?!?! WE CAN DO THAT!!!!

I posted this information on my Facebook page. My friends responded with “Who do I make the check out to?” and “Where do I send the money?”

Of course, more than $200 was needed initially. It turned out tuition and fees were closer to $200 for the first term and $100 for the other terms. Viney had to hire a driver to take him on the 3-hour mountainous trip, and she would have to hire him a few times a year. School supplies and uniforms and tennis shoes and undies and sheets and towels and a suitcase needed to be purchased and shipped to Jamaica.

Fifty dollar checks and $100 checks were mailed to my house or sneaked into my hand at church.

Enough money came in to have leftover to open an account for him. I asked my friend Vicki to co-sign the account with me and be treasurer of his money. She is a CPA, so she is better at counting pennies. Mostly, I wanted to keep my hands off the money to avoid any appearance of wrongdoing.

But that is detail.

Fourteen-year-old Coran began 1st grade at Jamaican School for the Deaf on September 2, 2014.

I asked Viney if he cried when his mommy left him. She said, “NO! He smiled and showed her his bed!”

Amazing.

I emailed the principal and asked for an update when she had a minute.

09/11/2014

Hello Celeste,

Good to hear from you.  Coran has settled in really well and he has already found a best friend. He is learning to sign and using it too…..that is a great step.  I am sure that he will soak this up and his communication will improve rapidly.

Feel free to email us anytime to get an update.

Here are a few pictures.

Blessings,

Dian

 

 

12/11/2014

Hi Celeste,

Great to hear from you. Coran did pretty well this term. He went home today for the holidays. He was happy to go home, he missed home. He still has his beautiful smile and he has a group of friends, they are so brotherly. They hugged when he was leaving today, it was so sweet to see.

He did exams last week but reports won’t be ready until next year when he returns to school. I will send you a copy of his progress report.

I will let you know if he is need of anything. Yes, his fee is about $60, also he has to pay approximately $28 for boarding for the term. Viney keeps up to date and I spoke with her recently.

Thank you for spearheading his right to an education, he will learn and we will prepare him as best as we can so he can become an upstanding independent and productive individual.

Take care and blessings for the holiday,

Dian

I wanted to shower him in Christmas gifts, but he has three younger siblings and lots of new friends. Somehow, that didn’t seem appropriate, especially not knowing Jamaican Christmas customs. (I need to find out his birthday!)

He will return on January 7, 2015 for his second term.

Coran can stay at JCSD until he is 18 or 19. His American friends will do their part to keep him there. Hopefully, he will one day need a passport for a trip to Vanderbilt for cochlear implants.

More to come . . . .