A mother shared a heartwarming video of the moment her four-year-old deaf son heard his family’s voices for the first time.
Christina Lenglin, from Ontario, Canada, posted the video of four-year-old Sawyer hearing for the first time to TikTok earlier this month. In the clip, Sawyer, who was diagnosed with Pendred Syndrome, which causes hearing loss, and who recently underwent cochlear implant surgery, could be seen surrounded by his family as he excitedly listened to the voices of his mother, father and sister.
Sawyer’s older sister Rosie says “hi” to her brother in the video, who looked up in wonder as he heard her voice for the first time. The four-year-old old then began to smile widely and laugh as he realised what he was hearing.
As Sawyer’s family joined in on his infectious happiness and laughter, his mother asked: “Can you hear?” while Rosie repeatedly told her younger brother: “I love you!”
The emotional video then saw the family continue to speak to Sawyer as he smiled back, with the four-year-old’s mother asking: “Are you happy?” to which the child grinned even more widely.
At one point, Sawyer’s mother could be heard saying that she’s never seen her son “smile that big in his whole life,” before the four-year-old’s sister walked over to give her brother a hug and a kiss on the head.
Rosie then informed her brother that his name is Sawyer, at which point he giggled with excitement. After Lenglin told her son “your name is Sawyer,” she then pointed to herself and said: “Mama,” before pointing to her husband and saying: “Daddy.”
Lenglin then pointed to her daughter, telling Sawyer “Rosie,” before pointing to the newborn in her arms and telling Sawyer the name of his younger brother Tucker.
“It makes his life better, maybe, right? He might be really happy,” Lenglin added as she wiped away tears during the sweet moment.
In the caption of the TikTok, Lenglin said that the video shows Sawyer hearing “words for the first time,” before encouraging viewers to help the family raise awareness that “kids should hear for FREE”.
Lenglin also directed viewers to a GoFundMe page she set up for Sawyer and his younger brother, who both have Pendred Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes early hearing loss in children, according to the National Institute of Health.
The institute says children born with the genetic disorder typically begin losing their hearing at birth, or by the time they are three years old. The loss of hearing typically happens suddenly, with the NIH noting that “eventually, some children with Pendred Syndrome become totally deaf”.
On the GoFundMe, Lenglin said Sawyer was able to hear for the first time on 7 February after undergoing cochlear implant surgery. The surgery involves a cochlear implant, a small electronic device, getting implanted into the cochlea, the spiral cavity of the inner ear, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The internal processor, which is placed by a surgeon between the muscle and bone behind the ear, then receives information from an external speech processor worn outside the skin.
On GoFundMe, the family has asked for help raising $30,000, which they estimate they will pay to cover the cost of new cochlear processors for their sons every five years.
On TikTok, where the video of Sawyer has been viewed more than 135,000 times, viewers shared how they were moved by the emotional moment.
“I love that his sister is as excited for him as he is! Beautiful!” one person commented, while another viewer said: “So much love in this family! His sister has me sobbing!”
“What a beautiful moment. His face. Sister’s tears. All of it,” someone else wrote.
The Independent has contacted Lenglin for comment.
