Parents hope to raise $40,000 for daughter’s operation
Profoundly deaf young Ella needs two cochlear implants – but the Government can only fund one.
Young mum Shai Ropiha had a mother’s instinct something was wrong with daughter Ella from the start.
“Ella wasn’t reacting when I gave her frights or in the hospital or when a nurse dropped something, and all the babies par Ella cried.”
Now eight-month-old Ella Gavin is thriving – but unable to hear anything at all.
Born profoundly deaf, Ella needs two cochlear implants but only one is funded by the government.
Ella’s parents, Shai Ropiha and Jonathan Gavin, both from Taranaki, need to fundraise $40,000 to pay for the second implant.
A cochlear implant is a device that picks up sound, converts it, and then transmits it to electrodes that are placed within the ear.
Shai says they are determined to get the two cochlear implants at the same time to give Ella as normal a life as possible.
Fundraising activities such as car washes, selling cookies, a fashion show, and donations from organisations are helping the family reach their goal.
- You can follow and keep up to date with Ella’s story by going on to the Ears for Ella Facebook page and by donating to this bank account: TSB Bank, Ella Rose, 15 3950 0685385 30.
