Breelyn was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, a condition in which the cells, in the inner ear, responsible for transmitting sound to the brain are damaged. Though she received her right cochlear implant at 1-year-old, her homelife was unstable and she often didn’t wear the implant. By 2-years-old, Breelyn was non-verbal and unable to communicate her needs.  

When officially placed in her grandparents’ care, they reached out to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for support. 

“We were told that it was late but with lots of support she just might be able to talk,” shares Breelyn’s grandmother, Ellen, who was a Senior Surgical Technologist at Nationwide Children’s for over 40 years. “That was both heartbreaking and inspired hope all in the same moment.” 

With the help of her therapists, Breelyn and her grandparents immediately began learning basic signs to help her communicate. At 4, she received her left cochlear implant, and though she had a difficult time adjusting to wearing them, with the support she received from her grandparents and care team, including her audiologist and speech therapist, she began to make great strides.  

Lauren Yoshihiro, MS, CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist in the Hearing Program, specializing in a total communication approach for children who are deaf/hard of hearing and has been Breelyn’s speech therapist from the beginning. Lauren not only helps her grow into speech and sign language but also helps Ellen learn sign language as well. In a recent visit to Nationwide Children’s, Ellen was able to read a book to Breelyn in sign language.  

“Yes, you can teach an old lady new tricks,” Ellen jokes. 

Today Breelyn is still making great progress. She loves school, making new friends, and teaching others how to sign.