Aloshay was first diagnosed with steeply sloping hearing loss and received hearing aids for both ears at the age of six.

This came after:

A liver transplant, at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital when she was only one year old.

Which was then followed, by bone marrow cancer!

This required heavy doses of medication, resulting in hospitalisation for 11 months while she received 28 weeks of chemotherapy!

Gary Kroukamp, one of the doctors, says they are satisfied with the newest surgery and how she has responded to it. “We were quite happy to do it, as it allowed us to use our skills to advance the life of this little girl and this is what we would like to do for our patients whenever we can. The primary benefits of performing this life-changing surgery are spoken language acquisition, improved speech intelligibility, reading comprehension and high frequency hearing which is missed with hearing aids.”

Her mother, Candice Isaacs, says it has been tough to see their daughter going through so many changes due to medical conditions. Though it was not an easy decision for them to make, they had to welcome the opportunity to give her another chance to hear.

“It was a tough time for all of us, especially having to watch her transition her way from one challenge to the next, but we had to make difficult decisions, which saved her life. Aloshay was born with normal hearing, but lost it due to the medical and surgical interventions.”

The implant is described as a very soft and flexible electrode designed to protect and preserve the structures of the cochlea. The implant will be switched on in three weeks once the swelling has gone down and Aloshay has fully recovered from the ­surgery.

Source: NEWS 24

Image credit:
After a successful cochlear implant, Aloshay Arendse (8), With her are: Anaesthetist Nick Meyersfeld, her grandmother Spasina Isaacs, mother Candice Isaacs, father Ashley Arendse and Dr Gary Kroukamp, one of her surgeons, at Life Kingsbury Hospital.