Through the gift of Chrissie, Nathan is now leading a full life again

Chrissie is officially a hearing dog! Hurray!

Thanks to your kindness, she’s now helping Nathan. Profoundly deaf from an early age, Nathan has succeeded in life and become a teaching assistant. However, his sense of isolation, already a problem for him, was much magnified during the pandemic. Through the gift of Chrissie, Nathan is now leading a full life again.

Meeting challenges

Nathan contracted meningococcal meningitis when he was three, leaving him profoundly deaf. Seven months later he received his first hearing aid, and then, a week before his eleventh birthday, he was fitted with a cochlear implant.

“I was supported throughout my education,” Nathan says. “I succeeded right through to University, where I gained my degree in Deaf Studies and Law. Today, I’m a teaching assistant in a mainstream school.”

It’s clear that Nathan has met the challenges of deafness head-on. However, he couldn’t shake off some of the issues that hearing loss can bring.

“I was constantly worried about missing people ringing my doorbell, or calling me on my phone. I was also terrified of missing my smoke alarm going off , or the burglar alarm,” he tells us. “I just didn’t feel safe, especially at night, on my own, in bed.”

A lot of deaf people tell us this. The dark night, combined with silence and solitude, can be very frightening.

Back to Nathan: “I was already feeling quite isolated before the pandemic. Friends that I grew up with had moved away or started their own families, so we couldn’t meet up like before.

“But when the pandemic started, things got a lot worse. I started to feel very cut off . The isolation became extremely hard. I did not see friends or family members face-to-face for months on end. Eventually I stopped things I used to enjoy, such as visiting new places, or going out with work colleagues.”

“Chrissie has changed my life completely”

As we told you in your previous update, we realised that Chrissie was great around children. That’s why we thought she would be good for Nathan, given his role at a school. We were right!

Nathan smiles: “Chrissie has brought me great joy and happiness. She has changed my life completely. She alerts me to sounds that I would not hear, so now I can rest safely knowing that she’s looking after me.

“She is adored by staff and students alike. Everyone is interested in her. I’ve given talks to students about how she helps me. Everyone has commented on how much more confident, relaxed and happy I am.”

So Chrissie has been a huge help to Nathan, both practically and emotionally. Indeed, she’s helped his confidence so much that he’s now passing that on to other deaf people.

Back to Nathan: “I have two deaf students starting this year. One has met Chrissie, and is amazed and delighted that there is a deaf member of staff . I have also advised staff on how to support deaf students, including for example how to use the radio hearing aid, which transmits their voices to the students’ hearing devices.”

A life rediscovered

Chrissie has helped Nathan to lead a full life once more. “I’ve discovered a new-found confidence and am doing the things I enjoy again. I have become a member of English Heritage so that I can start visiting places I always wanted to – I finally got to see Stonehenge which was amazing. Everyone that I met while I was there was in awe of Chrissie being an assistance dog.

“I’ve also started going out with colleagues again. Chrissie has been so well behaved, in restaurants and cafés.

“She also helps every day. When I go out to my local supermarket or any shops, people come to talk to me about her and ask me what she does. It’s wonderful.”

When we asked Nathan what he’d like to say to you, Chrissie’s sponsor, he told us this: “I cannot thank you enough. You have helped me in so many ways, but mainly my own mental health, giving me reassurance that I am safe at all times. You are an amazing person.”

Thank you for your kindness in sponsoring Chrissie. She’s made a huge diff erence to Nathan’s life. It would be wonderful if you would consider sponsoring another puppy and helping another deaf person like Nathan. However you decide, now that Chrissie’s sponsor journey has ended, from all of us at Hearing Dogs, and from Nathan… thank you.