Jking Truman is a typical curious toddler with an infectious smile, but his bubbly personality masks the struggles the tiny tot has experienced in his short life since being diagnosed with profound hearing loss as a baby.
Over the next week, however, Jking [pronounced Jay King,] 2, is set to receive the gift of hearing as he undergoes surgery on 5 Nov. to get cochlear implants, which are small electronic devices that give a sense of sound to people with hearing impairments.
“It was a joy to know that he would be able to hear again if he got this,” Taya Truman, Jking’s grandmother said in a telephone interview with the Cayman Compass on Friday.
It was her heroic efforts and never-give-up attitude that inspired Acts of Random Kindness and LIFE (Literacy Is For Everyone) to collaborate and get the Caymanian toddler the support and additional funds needed for the surgery, covered partially by CINICO. The charities will also help Jking access the schooling he needs to begin a normal life.
“He’s a happy baby, even though he’s not hearing … He’s happy even going to school. [His teachers] say he is so happy in school and is learning so quick. If he was able to hear, they said they could imagine what he would be doing because he catches on so quick,” she said.
Long road
Getting to this point has been a long road said Truman, who is Jking’s sole provider, as his father is impaired and his mother is not in the picture.
Next week, Truman said, will be the third attempt to complete his surgery.
She said the first time they were scheduled to go, Jking got ill and the surgery was postponed.
The second time, which was last month, doctors had commenced the surgery in Miami, but they uncovered another medical issue that prevented them from continuing with the procedure.
“They found infection in the back of the ear that was going to his bones that could cause meningitis, according to the doctor. They had to close that [surgery] after being in Miami for three weeks. They made an appointment for me come back in November,” Truman said.
Jking, she said, will be heading to three different hospitals for check-ups and the surgery in Miami: Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, UHealth and Bascom Palmer.
“Hopefully we will get it done this time; we will see. I am so thankful and grateful for Tara [Nielsen] and all the people from ARK that is helping me to do this. I don’t know what I would do without them, and I don’t know what Jking would do … From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful,” Truman said.
More support needed
Nielsen, speaking with the Compass Friday, said she was drawn to Jking and “fell in love” with him when she met him and his grandmother.
She said they both have been through a lot, especially with Truman effectively becoming a single parent again at nearly 60 years old.
Nielsen said it was Linda Brown, a specialist teacher of the hearing impaired, who brought Jking’s situation to her attention.
“How could we not help,” Nielsen said after meeting him.
She said ARK donated $4,000 last month out of its reserve crisis and emergency fund for Jking’s attempted surgery.
They have donated another $4,000 through fundraising towards next week’s attempt, but Nielsen said the tiny tot will need a lot more support, as this is just the beginning of his journey.
“The bottom line is we love Jking. We want to support his grandmother, and we want him to have a future, to be able to hear and experience life and to have friendships. We want to stand by him and support the family for as long as we can, and it’s the community that’s going to make that possible or not,” she said.
Brown, speaking with the Compass Friday, said she has been working with Jking and his grandmother for over a year.
She said she was pleased that he was going to get the surgery because time is of the essence to get his hearing and speech skills to hit milestones.
“Jking has a profound hearing loss; he basically hears nothing. He might hear a truck go past or an airplane, but he’s not hearing any speech sounds. So, if you’re not hearing those sounds, you can’t produce those sounds, and time is crucial,” she said.
Brown said if the brain doesn’t hear those speech sounds, then “those synapses aren’t connecting and if that goes on for a long time, they’ll never connect properly”.
Erica Dell’Oglio, executive director at LIFE, knows this all too well through her community work and has also been working with Jking and his grandmother to get him into Precious Gems preschool so he can be around other children.
Dell’Oglio said LIFE does not normally take single cases, but Jking was so special that she felt compelled to help him in anyway she could.
“He’s already missed so much in the first few years,” she said, adding that LIFE has been working with Precious Gems for the last three years, so he was able to get a space there.
“It’s really important that he is in an environment where there are children speaking, there are adults speaking. So after his cochlear implant, he would be in that right environment,” she added.
An estimated $12,000, as well as air miles, will be needed to support Jking over three years.
Truman and both charities are appealing for the public to help Jking on his journey by donating to their efforts.
Related Videos
