-
(waiter)
What would you like to drink?
-
A Shirley Temple.
-
(waiter)
OK.
-
(Marianne)
Heather being implanted at nine years
-
of age to me was a gift, the greatest
-
I could have ever received.
-
Would I have liked it to have been
-
earlier? Yeah, I would've.
-
But you know what, she wasn't, and you
-
deal with that and you do the best you can
-
for her. In the short time that she's been
-
implanted, her speech has improved
-
tremendously, and since she went into
-
hearing school, it's made a tremendous
-
change altogether.
-
(teacher)
Heather functions very well in class.
-
She's probably in the top ten of her class
-
and she scores very well in all of her
-
exams, and overall she's just
-
enthusiastic and energetic. She wants to
-
do well, and if she doesn't do well
-
she'll do it again.
-
(Italian teacher)
Una tazza di te? (asks for translation)
-
She'd rather drink tea.
-
(teacher)
A cup of tea. Una tazza di te.
-
Very good. Excellent. And [more Italian]?
-
[answers]
-
(teacher)
Very good.
-
I don't think that Heather would even
-
perceive herself as being disabled.
-
If this was a silent movie, you would be
-
like, "Whoa, this kid is popular!"
-
(Heather giving presentation)
-
(principal)
Most of the kids know her.
-
Not because of her disability. They know
-
her for her personality.
-
Now she's in an environment where the
-
rest of the world is, and she's thriving,
-
so we can assume that, y'know,
-
if everything remains constant, she'll be
-
very successful in the world as an adult.
-
And this is the type of world that Heather
-
now has opened up to her.
-
She can do whatever her talents
will allow her to.
-
(volleyball coach)
We are a tough [????]
-
and I'm sorry I have to decide here. We're
-
going to be cutting down from 23 to 16.
-
So what I'm looking for today is
-
coachability, attitude, people that listen
-
as well as their physical skills. OK? Go!
-
(sound of running, hitting balls)
-
You are on the team. I'm gonna tell you
-
now so that you can tell your parents
-
every day, here, 4:45. Got it? Every day.
-
I made the team!
-
(music)
-
(Marianne)
Hello, you look familiar.
-
(Heather)
I made the team!
-
Congratulations!
-
OK, so when's practice going to be?
-
(Heather)
Every day, here.
-
(Marianne)
Oh, it's going to be here? 4:45?
-
Yep.
-
(Marianne)
And it's five days a week?
-
Oh, your poor grandmother.
-
(Marianne)
I see her communicating, I see her
-
existing in the hearing world. To me,
-
she's a walking miracle.
-
What do we have to do? Read the directions.
-
Mix first --
-
Mix first what?
-
The first three in ...
-
- Ingredients.
-Yeah, that.
-
No, you say it!
-
- Incredi --
- Ingredients.
-
Incredients.
-
Gimme your arm. Ingredients.
-
- Ingredients.
- Better.
-
But it's actually a mixture --
-
What was the three? It was the
-
(speaking together)
cream cheese, egg yolk,
-
and half a cup of sugar.
-
Is it a half, or a quarter? Half a cup.
-
Go in there and get one of the --
-
(something about sugar)
-
That's a mixture for something else.
-
Open the closet and see
if there's a half cup.
-
Just find the one that says half.
-
(Heather)
There's only full cups.
-
(Marianne)
No, there's a half there, absolutely.
-
You know what's amazing, Heather?
-
- Do you know what's amazing about you?
- What?
-
I'm able to stand over there and tell you
-
everything, and you're not even
looking at me. You couldn't
-
have done that three years ago.
-
You have made -- what do you mean, shrug
-
your shoulder? -- You have made such
-
unbelievable strides. I'm so proud of you.
-
I love you to death. I mean,
-
three years ago, I'd have to -- this would
-
take twice as long because I'd have to
-
stop, make sure you're looking at me ...
-
Look at you now.
-
- Aren't you impressed with that?
- Nope.
-
Why? Yes, you are! Yes, you are.
-
You like it.
-
(Italian music)
-
If we win today and tomorrow,
-
we might be in the playoffs.
-
Oh! Well, that's good. If you win today.
-
And tomorrow.
-
(Marianne)
Oh, and tomorrow.
-
(Peter)
I see that Heather is now part of both
-
the deaf and the hearing worlds.
-
Before, she was only in the deaf world.
-
But now, she has the opportunity to be
-
in both. So I understand what she wants.
-
I understand Heather's wishes.
-
And at first I was scared to let her go,
-
but I can see now, she navigates
-
between the two worlds easily.
-
I'm satisfied. I'm relieved.
-
My family is the same. We sign at home,
-
on the outside my kids talk. I don't care!
-
When they are with hearing people, that's
-
their life. They wanna talk and enjoy it,
-
that's fine. When we're together, we sign.
-
(Marianne)
Now your father's doing serious business.
-
(Heather)
Eating is one of his professions!
-
Tell Grandpa what you said.
-
Eating is one of his professions.
-
Eating is one of Peter's professions.
(laughs)
-
Serious business.
-
(Peter)
For me, the priority is to keep
-
the family together, for support, for
-
contact. Like my sister and her husband
-
have kids with cochlear implants too,
-
and they live right next door to us.
-
So between us --