CME matches
what you give

Our target is $35,000
to be raised by July 31, 2010

	$7,225 $15,452 $12,393
Donation FAQ

Lucas (Fu Chang Song)

Lucas was born on May 26, 2006 and came to Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village from Jiao Zuo on September 1st, 2006. His special needs are cleft lip and palate and deafness. His lip was repaired on December 2nd, 2006 and the palate was fixed on April 2nd, 2007. He has been evaluated for his deafness and the studies indicate that he needs a cochlear implant.

He is a very active and friendly boy and has been in good health. He attends preschool at Shepherd’s Field Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 11am and then in the afternoon from 2:30pm to 4pm. He is also learning sign language from our speech therapist. Lucas’ nannies describe him as an active, outgoing, and clever boy.

Lucas was assessed to be a candidate for a cochlear implant, but is quickly growing up and reaching an age where the implant will no longer be effective in helping him to process sound and learn to speak. See the side bar on this treatment.

We at Shepherd's Field have received estimates that the cost of a cochlear implant in China is between $25,000-$35,000 US. We really appreciate your eagerness to help this precious boy! His life can be forever changed by the gift of hearing.

  Cochlear implant

Research shows that congenitally deaf children who receive cochlear implants at a young age (less than 2 years) have better success with them than congenitally deaf children who first receive the implants at a later age, though the critical period for utilizing auditory information does not close completely until adolescence. One doctor has said ‘There is a time window during which they can get an implant and learn to speak. From the ages of two to four, that ability diminishes a little bit. And by age nine, there is zero chance that they will learn to speak properly. So it’s really important that they get recognized and evaluated early.

More on cochlear implants at Wikipedia