Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 26

CITY i SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2001 B6 EDMONTON JOURNAL Cochlear implant introduces Emma to hearing world ED il) i 1 Ljj A i count on the devices from various manufacturers. The best results come either in children from one to fouryears old or in older people who haven't been deaf for long. "We are going to do our first 12-month-old this month," he says. "There's very good evidence that the sooner you put one of these things into someone who was born deaf, the better theyTl do." The devices, which are covered by Alberta BRIAN GAVRILOFF, THE JOURNAL Three-year-old Emma Wildemhoff-Henrion, pictured here with parents Robert Henrion and Anne Wildemhoff-Henrion, heard her dog Star bark for the first time after becoming the 100th person in the Capital Health Region to receive a cochlear implant. qr Local surgeon has performed 200 operations 1 1 I HOI.UBITSKY lournal Staff Writer EDMONTON When Emma says a new word these days, it's pretty big news in the Wildemhoff-Henrion household.

Theother day when she said the word "bathroom," for instance, mom and dad were on the phone with each other right away. Just like proud parents watching their child take her first steps, Robert Henrion and Anne Wildemhoff-Henrion are thrilled to see the changes in their 3V2-year-old daughter since last summer, when doctors fitted the coil of her damaged inner ear with the thin electrodes of a cochlear implant "She is really good with environmental sounds," says Henrion. "We knew it was worth it because she could hear the doorbell ringing, or Star, our dog, barking." Emma was born with her profound hearing impairment, possibly due to a genetic defect, says her mom, Wildemhoff-Henrion. She is the 100th person, from almost all ages, in the CapitalHealth region to receive the electronic implant since the delicate operations were first performed in Edmonton in 1986. People from other provinces and health regions have also had implants performed by Edmonton surgeons.

Now, more than eight months later, Emma's scars have healed and if you weren't told the quarter-sized device was implanted behind her ear, you wouldn't know it. That part of the device is completely sealed beneath her scalp. But every morning as soon as she gets up, Emma demands the external parts of her electronics be connected right away. She wants to listen to things, go to a special class at Connect Society for children with speech problems, or simply dance to music with her mom. A circular device that communicates with her implant by radio is held in place under her hair with a magnet.

This part of the implant is attached to a tiny battery-powered computer she wears like a tiny backpack. The computer sends thousands of digitally controlled electrical impulses into her ear, via the electrodes, to stimulate the nerves. (Newer more compact cochlear equipment is becoming available which hides entirely behind the ear or which someday will be completely implanted in the head.) Dr. Derald Oldring, who has performed about 200 cochlear implants, says more than 50,000 people around the world now Health, are used in patients diagnosed as profoundly or severely hearing impaired. Oldring says the cost of an implant, including surgery and about three years of rehabilitation, is estimated to be about $56,000.

Ian Russell, 71, sees it as nothing less than a miracle he can hear again. After a career on noisy construction sites as an electrician, he had lost all hearing by the age of 40. He lived in silence for 17 years until he became Edmonton's first successful cochlear implant recipi thp farts and 1 V-T7-- i 1 this Toshiba 1710 -CDS Notebook You could win this Toshiba 1 71 0 CDS Notebook from Metro Community College and Compusmart just by reading your Class Calendar and answering the contest question(s) correctly. To enter: Look for Metro Community College facts throughout Class Calendar. Fill out the contest form, and drop off your entry at these locations: ent in 1986.

"I can hear about 95 per cent of things," says Russell, who advises people who think they may have a hearing problem to see their doctors. "You've got to admit to yourself that you are going deaf, and then you have to do something about it" For more information on cochlear implants contact Glenrose Auditory Services at 491-6016. 1 Metro Community College at the Boardwalk 1 00, 1 03 1 0 -1 02 Edmonton T5J 5A2 Edmonton Journal, 1 0006 -1 01 Edmonton Compusmart (2 locations) 1 0230 -1 08 Edmonton T5J 1 L4 or 16810 104A Edmonton T5P 4J6 List 3 Metro Community College facts Metro Community College by completing the following sentence. Contest Rules: Contestants must be 1 8 years of age or older and a resident of Alberta. Contest is not open to Edmonton Public Schools, Compusmart, EZRock 104.9 or Edmonton Journal employees and their immediate families.

Contest closes April 7 at 4:30 pm. Winner will be chosen by random draw from all eligible entries and contacted by phone. Metro Community College reserves the right to publish the winner's name andor photograph for promotional purposes. No purchase necessary. The winner will be announced on EZRock 104.9 and in the Edmonton Journal on Friday, April 20, 200 1.

7 Sound is received by a microphone. Cochlear Implant Name a Sound is sent to the speech processor, which selects and codes useful sounds. A multichannel cochlear implant can stimulate auditory nerve fibres and give a deaf person helpfu Address Postal Code Phone The code is sent to the transmitter. The transmitter sends the code across the skin to the receiver. information about a speaker's pitch and meaning.

i EDMONTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS 0 Microphone EDMONTON JOURNAL i iransminer The receiverstimulator converts the code to the electrical signals. Electrical signals are sent to the electrodes to stimulate hearing nerve fibres. (PI) Compu 1 Canadat Computer Store I 104 9fm W4.9fm The signals are recognized as sounds by the brain. 4 K( fl ((a "I)1) Cochlea --Speech ---JJa processoA Implanted electrode i PEKLKI South LRT Extension Planning Process INFORMATION MEETING An information meeting on planning considerations for extension of LRT specific to the Belgravia and McKernan neighbourhoods will be held: Thursday, March 22, 2001 McKernan School (Large Gymnasium) 11330 76 Avenue 4:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m.

Formal presentation 7:00 p.m. Displays and resource people will be available starting at 4:30. The BelMac Consultation Committee will make a presentation at the meeting. Small group discussions with community members will follow formal presentations. Ready to take flight? To launch your career to the next level? Visit Canada's premier career management site, careerclick.com.

You'll find a truly national database of employment opportunities, along with a suite of tools to simplify your career search a personalized homepage, resume builder, industry news, e-mail notification of relevant postings, career fairs, career bookmarks, discussion forums and vendors offering everything from books and high-tech gear to training and travel. Ready to make a career move? Visit 0 0 1 1 COITl careercct com is part of the Canada com network. nj X) Cv CI 5" For more information about South LRT, please contact Kaleidoscope Consulting: Phone: 487-51 39 Fax: 486-4880 e-mail: kaIeidoscopecompusmart.ab.ca monfon TRANSPORT AND STREETS.