Friends and family give baby girl sweetest unexpected gift

Family and friends mean everything to Andrea Fazio. When her husband, Chris, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018, there was no shortage of support from the community as he inched his way through surgery and treatment that is still ongoing.

When baby, Eleanor, was born in February of this year, Team Faz, as they’ve come to be known, was faced with another medical challenge when their daughter was diagnosed with profound hearing loss in both ears.

See Eleanor’s neighborhood mark her baby-naming ceremony by singing a song in sign language.

But the response of those around her was typically resilient, with many undertaking the difficult task of learning sign language. The weekly lessons are demanding, as American signing has unique grammar and syntax. But perseverance has its reward, and at Eleanor’s baby-naming ceremony, family and friends were able to perform a song for her in sign language.      

Happily, Eleanor may eventually acquire some degree of hearing. She’s already followed in her father’s footsteps by undergoing a brain MRI, and the news was good. So, later this year, doctors say she should be an excellent candidate to receive cochlear implants.