Help raise funds for the future of an 18-month old -- Divyesh Indulkar
** 8/9 UPDATE - The date for the surgery had to be changed to Oct 16, 2008 since the hospital required all funds to be available a month prior to the scheduled date. There are also a few pre-tests that need to be done for Divyesh. Copies of the reservation and tests documentation is available in the PHOTOS section. There is also a bonus high-res picture of the young boy!
** 8/4 UPDATE - We are now very pleased to report that all necessary funds have been raised for Divyesh's surgery! This is a huge achievement and it would not have been possible without the well wishes and timely donations of you all. The stats page needs to be updated since some funds also came from India which we need to get a breakdown of.
** 7/17 UPDATE - The fund raising got a HUGE shot in the arm by some fantastic donations by Mumbai based charitable trusts and foundations. Sum total is now at 70% of the needed funds. We are hopeful that more will join and make the contributions to take us across the finish line. Surgery is planned on Sept 3, 2008 (Ganesh Chaturthi festival) **
Hello,
We started this page to try and help an 18-month old boy Divyesh Indulkar in Mumbai, India whom we met at our wedding in February 2008.
Divyesh is known to us through his mother Swati, who is an outstanding classical dancer and has played many pivotal roles in numerous international shows as part of a troupe lead by the Indian Society for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped. She has accomplished all this despite being deaf and mute since early childhood !!! Incidentally Divyesh's dad is also deaf and mute but both parents and their extended family are committed to raising this young boy to the best of their abilities.
Divyesh is a student at I Hear Foundation's early intervention center, Naad. He has profound sensori-neural hearing loss in both ears. This implies that the hearing loss is permanent and that he has very little residual hearing. He cannot hear speech and language or most of the environmental sounds, except for extremely loud sounds like firecrackers from a close distance. Since Divyesh's parents are deaf, speech-language stimulation is provided by his grandparents and maternal aunt.
More info on I Hear Foundation and Naad can be found in the Diary and Links pages.
Divyesh is currently using Behind-the-Ear hearing aids in both ears. He is showing some auditory awareness with these hearing aids. However, due to the degree of hearing loss, access to spoken language is very limited and he cannot pick up speech and language via hearing. As a result, a Cochlear Implant surgery is NECESSARY. This surgery is recommended for children as young as 12 months of age onwards. A cochlear implant coupled with appropriate habilitation is Divyesh's only opportunity to develop hearing and speech-language skills which will allow him to communicate verbally and be a part of mainstream society.
Cochlear Implant (CI) surgery is done in Mumbai by Dr. M.V. Kirtane at P.D. Hinduja Hospital. Dr. Kirtane is an established ENT surgeon having done 400+ CI surgeries in Mumbai.
Divyesh's father is the only earning member of the family, earning remuneration of ~ Rs.6000 (USD 139)/per month. The family requires urgent financial assistance for the following:
1. Cochlear implant device Cochlear Nucleus CI 24 K (R) ST at Rs. 5.12lakhs (USD 11,868)
2. Cochlear implant surgery and hospitalization charges amounting to Rs.60,000-Rs.70,000 (~ USD 1500)
3. Device maintenance for the next 3 years at the rate of Rs.6000 (USD 139)/Per annum.
Total funds needed = Rs. 6 lakhs (~ USD 14,000)
Divyesh's family is extremely motivated and hard working and he will definitely benefit from Cochlear Implant surgery done at the earliest possible time.
Thank you,
Kaushik and Vaishnavi
** 8/4 UPDATE - We are now very pleased to report that all necessary funds have been raised for Divyesh's surgery! This is a huge achievement and it would not have been possible without the well wishes and timely donations of you all. The stats page needs to be updated since some funds also came from India which we need to get a breakdown of.
** 7/17 UPDATE - The fund raising got a HUGE shot in the arm by some fantastic donations by Mumbai based charitable trusts and foundations. Sum total is now at 70% of the needed funds. We are hopeful that more will join and make the contributions to take us across the finish line. Surgery is planned on Sept 3, 2008 (Ganesh Chaturthi festival) **
Hello,
We started this page to try and help an 18-month old boy Divyesh Indulkar in Mumbai, India whom we met at our wedding in February 2008.
Divyesh is known to us through his mother Swati, who is an outstanding classical dancer and has played many pivotal roles in numerous international shows as part of a troupe lead by the Indian Society for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped. She has accomplished all this despite being deaf and mute since early childhood !!! Incidentally Divyesh's dad is also deaf and mute but both parents and their extended family are committed to raising this young boy to the best of their abilities.
Divyesh is a student at I Hear Foundation's early intervention center, Naad. He has profound sensori-neural hearing loss in both ears. This implies that the hearing loss is permanent and that he has very little residual hearing. He cannot hear speech and language or most of the environmental sounds, except for extremely loud sounds like firecrackers from a close distance. Since Divyesh's parents are deaf, speech-language stimulation is provided by his grandparents and maternal aunt.
More info on I Hear Foundation and Naad can be found in the Diary and Links pages.
Divyesh is currently using Behind-the-Ear hearing aids in both ears. He is showing some auditory awareness with these hearing aids. However, due to the degree of hearing loss, access to spoken language is very limited and he cannot pick up speech and language via hearing. As a result, a Cochlear Implant surgery is NECESSARY. This surgery is recommended for children as young as 12 months of age onwards. A cochlear implant coupled with appropriate habilitation is Divyesh's only opportunity to develop hearing and speech-language skills which will allow him to communicate verbally and be a part of mainstream society.
Cochlear Implant (CI) surgery is done in Mumbai by Dr. M.V. Kirtane at P.D. Hinduja Hospital. Dr. Kirtane is an established ENT surgeon having done 400+ CI surgeries in Mumbai.
Divyesh's father is the only earning member of the family, earning remuneration of ~ Rs.6000 (USD 139)/per month. The family requires urgent financial assistance for the following:
1. Cochlear implant device Cochlear Nucleus CI 24 K (R) ST at Rs. 5.12lakhs (USD 11,868)
2. Cochlear implant surgery and hospitalization charges amounting to Rs.60,000-Rs.70,000 (~ USD 1500)
3. Device maintenance for the next 3 years at the rate of Rs.6000 (USD 139)/Per annum.
Total funds needed = Rs. 6 lakhs (~ USD 14,000)
Divyesh's family is extremely motivated and hard working and he will definitely benefit from Cochlear Implant surgery done at the earliest possible time.
Thank you,
Kaushik and Vaishnavi