Written: October 10, 2012
Paul and I have been saying since day one that we are going to write our story. Well, since I’m sitting in a very quiet hospital room with not much to do (no children need tending, no house work beckoning me, and a husband that only needs my presence right now) I figured I’d give it a start.
Rather than back tracking and beginning the story from the beginning, I’ll start with the “hear” and now or the relevance of the here and now. Paul was a hearing person until 2002 when a severe inner ear infection prompted an auto immune disorder to attack his cochlear nerves and destroy his hearing. The damage left nearly no natural hearing in his right ear and about 25% in his left. He received a cochlear implant in the right ear in 2003, and combined with a hearing aid on his left to amplify his remaining natural hearing, he functioned at a rather moderate hearing level.
Unfortunately the implant unexpectedly failed in 2009—leaving only his left ear for hearing, which fluctuates from bad to really bad, regularly. An over the phone diagnostic test, at the time, seemed to rule out all explanations except that of internal device failure.
In December of 2011 the unfortunate event of me locking myself out of my house led to a beautiful wedding less than four months later to none other than THE Mr. Paul Mattes. Paul’s hearing impairment was never even an issue; in fact it was almost like it didn’t exist—we just naturally overcame any communication struggles that you would expect. But, something never did sit right with me that his implant had suddenly failed years ago and only a satellite diagnostic test was performed to determine the cause. Since I didn’t want Paul to feel like his hearing was troublesome to me, I never pushed it; by that I mean I never brought it up—although it never seemed to leave me peacefully alone. Months after the wedding I still felt God calling me to address it. So I did what every good, Southern, bossy wife would do—I made him an appointment with the leading specialist 4 hours away and told him to go! This is what I knew: I knew that we served a living God that still performs miracles. I prayed for a miracle and prepared for the worse.
The visit confirmed that the internal device had failed. I was pretty heartbroken, but I also knew that God’s will is perfect. Then true to God’s character he did more than I ever imagined. It was determined that we were within months of a warranty period which would cover an upgraded replacement device, the surgery, and all expenses associated with the procedure. MONTHS!!! MONTHS!!! Every time I think about it, I get teary. God never ceases to surprise us and pour his grace on us. That’s just how much he loves us folks!
My plea for you today is to listen—seek and listen to Him—then obey. Our creator loves us boundlessly! I hope that this short excerpt from our story brings you hope, a smile, and shines Glory on our Maker.
Wonderful blessings
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