Photo Adds Emotional Element to Boy’s Story

In addition to a great story on Ian Patterson (“Hear Me Out,” by Steve Emmons, April 4), the photograph you put in the paper (by Don Kelsen) of young Ian reacting to the hearing device just moved me so much. What a smile he has on his face! It almost made me cry. I just kept thinking: “This boy hadn’t heard anything, or known what ‘hearing’ was, until this moment.”

I cut the picture out and have it right in front of me by the computer monitor. I explain it to everyone who asks what it is about.

Not being able to communicate with people when everyone else is communicating is frustrating--as I learned from a very different perspective by coming to the U.S. by myself from Japan when I was 18, thinking I’d understand the language fine. I was wrong.

I hope Ian will do fine and I hope you will have an update of his story someday.

YUKAKO INOUE

Via Internet