Class III with some new challenges.

So in clinic on Tuesday, my class III came who can't hear nor speak. She communicates with her mom in a made up form of sign language and her mom only speaks spanish. I only cleaned one quad on her and completed my exams for the semester, but the more valuable experience with this patient was what I learned from her. She's so positive and nice despite her disabilities. I learned from her mom at this appointment that she was born with perfect hearing and then she got really sick and was put on some pretty strong medications that destroyed her hearing at a very young age (like 7 months). She learned to speak Spanish Sign Language in Mexico and had some friends that were also hearing impaired with whom she could communicate freely. She moved to Utah about 10 years ago and she still doesn't really have anyone she can really talk to. She has kids and is able to raise them will with a lot of help from her mom. Her mom goes with her to all the appointments for her and her children to help translate to doctors, dentists, and other people of importance. Through all this extra work in their lives, her and her mom seem very happy and positive. They're willing to do what it takes to survive and thrive in their lives. I don't know how they do it but they manage. I'm excited to have her back in the beginning of next semester to learn more about her life and how she copes. It truly is inspiring for me.