My guest today is Joe Tompkinson of MyMarketr and he’s opening up about his three children and the incredible journey that each one has been on. Joe and his wife, Claire, have George, Eloise and Henry and are based in Swindon.
When you see them on social media, you realised that it would be hard to find a happier family who enjoy spending as much time together as possible going on daytrips and holidays or just sitting at home watching a Disney movie!
Both Joe and Claire carry a gene that means that there is a one in four chance of their children being born deaf and for them, this was their eldest son, George. When he was eighteen months old they made the decision for him to undergo the operation that allowed him to grow up with cochlear implants and an ability to hear although one thing we do talk about is some of the difficulties that George can have when listening in class and the steps that the school have taken to improve those problems.
In 2014, when Eloise was born, they realised that she also had some hearing loss. Over the last few years, she has learnt sign language and how to lip read although these aren’t a way to sustain conversations long term. Last year at a check up Joe and Claire found that Eloise was suffering from significant hearing loss, and they had to decide whether or not to let Eloise have the cochlear implant surgery. As she was old enough to express her feelings on the subject they spoke to Eloise to find out what she wanted to do, and she chose to have the cochlear implants like her big brother. Over the course of this podcast, you’ll hear what happened into the lead up to her operation and then what happened afterwards including Eloise discovering new sounds she’d never heard before – like the dishwasher!
Not to be outdone when Eloise was recovered and the family went to Center Parks in Northern England, their youngest son Henry hadn’t even been there for about an hour when he fell off of his bike and broke his leg meaning he had to stay in hospital for three days of their trip away!
It’s very clear when you’re listening to Joe how much he and Claire love their children and are determined to get the support that they need at school and at home.
This year they gave their children the trip of a lifetime by taking them to Disneyland in Orlando Florida!
If you’d like to get in touch with Joe or myself email info@shreevecareservices.co.uk
