Challenge at Del Norte High School. He loves math and coding, and he plays basketball and golf. His next step, after Carnegie Hall, is to take his musical ability and give back to the hearing-impaired community. The Chens already performed a charity concert in Taiwan to raise funds for the Children’s Hearing Foundation, with father playing viola and son playing cello. “I really look forward to playing more music in the future,” he says. “I started a club with my friends to play chamber music at local venues, share the joy music brings to other people and raise money to help others with disabilities gain more opportunities to thrive and be who they can be. I want to inspire others to work hard on their goals and achieve their full potential. Perhaps I can offer consultations with families going through emotional hardships and uncertainties.” His proud father is amazed at all his son has achieved and is thankful to the team at Rady Children’s. He encourages others facing the life-changing diagnosis of childhood hearing loss to not delay in getting tested and exploring treatment options. Most of all, he urges, don’t lose hope. “We were very fortunate to receive the help from Dr. Carvalho and the whole Rady Children’s team, and we did our best to not just start the surgical intervention early, but also do the work early so Hayden wouldn’t be delayed,” he says. “The surgery is just a start åďīå ĉðăðÐĮȘZĊÆÐřďķīÐÆÐðŒÐĴì ĴÅÐĊÐťĴș it’s up to you to continue to work hard to expose your kids to sound. The team’s work is important, but the family is also the key to success. I encourage any families with a child with hearing loss to keep up the faith and keep up the work. There are many paths to hearing.”
22 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE WINTER 2024
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