You may know that we sponsor Hearing Dog George with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Stories like Lucy’s are why…

“My life changed dramatically when I became deaf aged just 18. 

I really struggled to cope.

During my A levels, I became aware that I couldn’t hear my teacher. This was just the beginning. My ears became increasingly painful, my breathing deteriorated and then the cartilage in my nose collapsed. Eventually, I was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease.

After my diagnosis, I was in and out of hospital, but I wasn’t offered any support with my deafness or mental health. Hearing loss affected my life so much. I had gone from being a healthy happy college student to barely leaving my home.

It felt like I was watching everyone else move on and I was stuck in the same place.

I live on my own and I felt incredibly lonely a lot of the time. I used to sleep a lot and wake up late so there were less hours in the day that I would be awake. I would get up and just count the hours down until bedtime. But even then, at night when I couldn’t hear and I couldn’t see in the dark, the loneliness was overwhelming.

I’m so grateful that life no longer feels like this because of my hearing dog Wilbur. But, I know there are so many other people still struggling like I was.

With Wilbur by my side, I’m no longer sat on the sidelines.

Thank you so much for reading my story.”

Lucy

If you would like to look at sponsoring a Hearing Dog this Christmas, here’s the link to help you https://tinyurl.com/2u6apvmf.