In 2011, baby Freddie was born prematurely. Freddie Congenital CMV, a virus that left him deaf in one year and moderately to severely deaf in his other ear. The baby was just two months old when doctors gave him a single hearing aid.
Three years later, the UK mom Sarah Ivermee got funding for a cochlear implant for Freddie’s profoundly deaf ear. Freddie loved his hearing aid, but other kids didn’t like it as much as he did.
Sarah became aware of the fact that most kids don’t like their hearing aid, adding that they felt ugly. She even did a research to change the appearance of the hearing aid, but there was no way to do so. Freddie’s mom knew that she had to do something.
The mom contacted a friend whose 9-year-old daughter didn’t like the device. Sarah decided to decorate it and make it look pretty. The little girl loved it a lot. We all love fancy designs, right?
An idea was born
Sarah decided to help every kid with hearing loss. She decided to restore their self-confidence. In 2014, she founded Lugs, a company that makes custom-made kits that can be used to decorate hearing devices and cochlear implants.
There were a lot of flowers, butterflies, superheroes and cartoon characters. Kids loved these!
Sarah was happy to learn that kids from every corner of the world wanted to wear her designs. She was making these in her living room. What’s better than making a kid proud or happy?
Today, Sarah uses her website and social media to share photos sent by parents.
First, parents choose the kid’s device so Sarah can make stickers with the right size, and then they make the order. Sarah loves accommodating special requests, because she is so happy to help people who struggle every day.
Do you know that Sarah makes Halloween kits, too? It’s not just Halloween. There are so many holiday-themed stickers.
Lugs may be a one-woman company, but Sarah’s business is growing every day. One of her customers said that the kit relieved her stress, because let’s be honest, no parent likes to see their kid struggling to hear a word.
We learn how to tolerate differences and disabilities, but there are millions of people who struggle to be accepted. Most of them can’t even look their face in the mirror. Wearing “extra stuff” may be uncomfortable, and that’s what helped Sarah turn her idea into reality.
Sources:
www.theepochtimes.com
relieved.co