Amy Glover was distraught one day when she learned what had transpired that morning on the playground at her son’s school. 6-year-old son Koltin was playing on the monkey bars when two bullies stole his hearing aids and threw them into a nearby pond. While this turn of events is already heartbreaking, the story behind Koltin’s special hearing aids shattered me.
Koltin’s specialized hearing aids were designed with this kindergartener’s unique type of hearing loss in mind. According to his mother, “[h]e doesn’t have any difficulty hearing volumes, he actually just has difficulty hearing different pitches and tones…so there’s certain letters of the alphabet that he just doesn’t hear.” As a result, an audiologist must program Koltin’s hearing aids so that he can hear different tones.
In the news interview below, Koltin describes the incident in heartbreaking detail: “I was hanging on the monkey bars and then another kid who was on the monkey bars took my hearing aids out. And then, the other kid who was on the monkey bars dared the kid with my hearing aids to throw them in the pond.” Apparently, the child who threw Koltin’s hearing aids into the pond only managed to hurl one into the water completely, but the other child picked up the hearing aid on the bank and threw it even further into the pond.
The hearing aids were completely submerged, but Amy kept them in an attempt to dry them out. They were not protected under warranty because she had purchased them refurbished. The most devastating aspect of this story is that Amy cannot afford a $5000 pair of replacements because she is a single mother of four, and her insurance will not cover this cost until 2016. The news segment states that Koltin can borrow a pair while at school, but must return them when he goes home after classes, on weekends, and during extended school breaks.
Amy set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a new pair of hearing aids, and at the time of this article, more than enough money has been raised for Koltin to continue learning and living life as a normal 6-year-old. This story demonstrates that even in the face of adversity and bullying, there is still an abundance of kindness in the world. Let us know what you think of this story in the comments section below.
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