A Deaf Mom Shares Her World

Life Takes a Crazy Turn

DeafMom — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:49:24 +0000

My dad was diagnosed with cancer while I was out in Vegas– this time it’s a lot more serious. He battled cancer a few years back and knocked it out. This time it’s back, in the esophagus. We were sitting around on Memorial Day weekend and he mentioned that he couldn’t swallow too well and didn’t have much of an appetite. My first thought of course, was cancer and I told him so– I wanted to make sure that he went to the doctor and got it checked out.

Dad starts radiation on Monday to shrink the son-of-a-%$#*.

Send some shrinking prayers our way.

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Z You at the Deaf Seniors of America Conference

DeafMom — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:33:15 +0000

I’m here in Las Vegas hanging with 1,800 Deaf senior citizens. And what a cool group they are to hang out with! I can’t help myself– I find that I get into conversations with them and want to hear their stories of growing up and where they worked at. One guy worked at Coke for 38 years…another is a tax attorney… a couple of them worked their way up at the post office to management level and all sorts of other jobs. At the Z booth, while they try out the Z-340 videophone, some of them have been sharing stories of how they had no phones and had to send letters to their friends to arrange a visit.

Today, we revealed our very own “Dr. Z,” the infamous Phil Bravin who is the original Deaf tech geek. He can remember playing around with code many years back and he recently put together a neat website for everything Z:

Doctor Z’s website

Dr. Z

Marlee Matlin arrived at noon to sign her books for over two hours. She took a moment to pose with Laurel and Hardy (yes, they work for the Z team too!):

Marlee Matlin with Laurel and Hardy

U. S. Chung, the Z Project Manager drew a crowd of his own this afternoon:

USC shows the Z-340 to Seniors

We’ll be at the Z booth on Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon. If you’re at the DSA conference, stop by and say hi!

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Greetings from Vegas

DeafMom — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:53:52 +0000

Where in the world is Karen? In Vegas. Not exactly my favorite place in the U.S. but I’m learning to like it this week because I’m with a great bunch of people from the Z team and the Deaf Seniors of America. I’m working the Z booth all week at the conference, so if you’re in Vegas, stop by Paris and say hi.

On Sunday, we had a free day to explore the strip so a few of us went to the roller coaster at New York. Later that night we went to the Stratosphere and tried the rides on the top. I discovered that I have a new fear of heights. There was one ride that throws you over the edge– ack! Poor Manny Johnson, I ended up squeezing the heck out of his hand when we went over the edge. Later that night, I woke up in the middle of a nightmare– the brakes on the ride failed and down we went.

Thank goodness it was only a dream.

Let's go on the roller coaster!

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Yes, I Have a Messy House

DeafMom — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:33:56 +0000

Today, my blog post from the Chicago Moms Blog was syndicated in several newspapers across the U.S.

Now everyone knows I have a messy house. I’m making the kids clean it.

Sacramento Bee

Family Wire, North Carolina

Centre Daily Times, PA

But hey, come on over for a visit! Just be sure to wipe your feet before you enter.

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Karen Putz Named To National VCO Position

DeafMom — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:46:39 +0000

Karen Putz Named To National VCO Position

CLEARWATER, Fla. [June 1, 2009] — ZVRS has named Karen Putz as its Z Video Solutions manager responsible for national voice carry-over (VCO) services. She also serves as sales manager for Illinois.

“We are delighted to have Karen take on a leadership role for our national VCO services,” said Tim Rarus, ZVRS vice president of sales. “As a VCO user herself, Karen understands the unique needs and challenges of these customers. Her dedication to customer service will greatly benefit The Z™ VCO users.”

Putz joined the company in October 2008 as a VCO outreach specialist, becoming sales manager in January 2009. The position involves working with deaf and hard of hearing customers to meet their videophone needs and managing a team of Z Specialists, who are responsible for installing Z products for customers.

In her new role, Putz provides nationwide outreach, focusing on customers who use VCO services. ZVRS specializes in one-line VCO, enabling customers to use their voice with Z products without the need for a second phone or additional phone line, a requirement when using many other VCO products.

“I love my work at ZVRS. There’s nothing more thrilling than seeing a customer connect with others via our Z products and services,” said Putz. “I work with a great team, and I enjoy having many different opportunities to work with deaf and hard of hearing individuals from all over the U.S.”

About The Z™

ZVRS (The Z™) is a product of CSDVRS, the first video relay services (VRS) provider to offer 24/7 availability, Spanish VRS, video mail and personal 800 numbers. Launched nationally in 2000, CSDVRS was developed by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals based on feedback from the nation’s deaf and hard of hearing community. Today, the company remains the dedicated to that same spirit of innovation and commitment to excellence, continuing to set the industry standard as the nation’s premier VRS provider. For more information about ZVRS and The Z™ family of products, please visit zvrs.com.

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How Can I Have a 16-Year-Old??

DeafMom — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:03:36 +0000

We all woke up late this morning. The alarm didn’t go off–I guess I forgot to set it last night. We hustled around as usual and my oldest took off through the front door and hopped into the waiting Suburban. A few minutes later, my eyes grew wide, my mouth hung open and my shoulders sank.

I forgot my son’s birthday.

That’s right, my oldest kiddo is now 16 years old. I shipped him off to school without so much as a “Happy Birthday honey!” He didn’t have his phone with him, so I couldn’t text him. So I called his bus driver and left a message on his voice mail– to tell my son that I wished him a Happy Birthday.

So, to erase this awful Mommy-guilt, I went to Panera and bought his favorite sandwich and dropped it off at school with a note.

Happy Birthday to my oldest baby– you were born just yesterday!

Sixteen.

How is that possible?

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SB 68 Hearing Aid Bill on ABC News

DeafMom — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:24:29 +0000

Jim and Julie Chavez and Dana Craig are featured in the news segment on ABC News covering SB 68 which would provide insurance coverage for hearing aids for Illinois residents. A big thank you goes to Senator Ira Silverstein who has worked hard from the beginning to push this bill through.

ABC News on SB 68 Hearing Aid Insurance Coverage (captioned)

The most surprising stance of all is the one taken by the Illinois Academy of Audiology opposing the bill for all ages and instead supporting it only for children.

I’d like to see Illinois become the second state (Arkansas is the first) to pass a bill providing insurance coverage for hearing aids for residents of all ages. It’s the right thing to do, as Senator Ira Silverstein stated in a recent meeting with the proponents and opponents.

May 31st is the deadline to get this bill moved to the floor or extended into the fall session. The time is now–call the Senators in Illinois and tell them to support this bill.

For more information and a list to call:

Hearing Aid Action

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Z, The Next-Best-Thing to Being There

DeafMom — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:54:03 +0000

“Impromptu gatherings are always the best,” said Karen Calvin on Saturday night. It was nearly two a.m. and the last of our friends were about to head out the door.

It started out as one of those weekends where we planned to work on the basement with our friend Mike. Mike had been coming over with his kids for several weekends and tackling the basement with Joe. Joe emailed another friend, John Sullivan. “We need a tall guy to hold up the drywall,” he said. Tempted with free beer, John said yes.

Another friend, Dennis O’Brien volunteered his labor and joined us after installing some Z’s all day. His wife Laura and son Shawn came over. Laura texted the Facebook Queen, Lori Krakora, and told her to come on over with her kids. Lori brought her kids, and three other friends of ours–Todd and Karen Calvin and Mark Riedel.

The guys put up just two pieces of drywall and called it quits.

So we spent the night gathered around the kitchen table yakking and laughing. The kids were off playing somewhere in the house– we didn’t hear a peep from them. We talked about everything under the sun: the stinking economy, the difficulty of keeping a business going during hard times, our kids, our future– and our childhoods.

Connecting with Kent from Colorado

It was getting late, probably near midnight, when we decided to call our friend Kent from Colorado. Kent was part of our deaf investment club which disbanded not too long ago. So Kent joined the party virtually through the Z videophone.

“Damn, I wish I was there!” he said.

“Dude, you are here!” I said. We passed the Z-340 around and yakked some more. After Kent hung up, Julie and Jim Chavez called at one a.m. So we planted the Z in front of us and chatted away with the Chavez’s while munching on potato chips. There were grease marks all over the Z-340 from being passed around. Earlier in the day, the Z survived an encounter with spilled milk. I sat back and watched the conversations around me– marveling how neat it was that friends from far away could join us and be involved.

I think we’ve got a new slogan for Z: The next-best-thing to being there.

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Deaf Nation and SOBCon’09

DeafMom — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:51:08 +0000

Last week, I was scheduled to speak at SOBCon’09 with Glenda Watson Hyatt but I ended up working at Deaf Nation in Ponoma, California. I drove down to Chicago on Thursday to meet with some customers and then headed over to Hotel 71 to find Glenda. Glenda and I have been online buddies for about two years, but this was the first time we met in person. As soon as I walked in the hotel and spotted her smiling face, I ran over for a hug. Sitting right next to her was Amy Derby, another fellow blogger who happens to be hard of hearing. Amy and I met last year for lunch at Chili’s. We mistakenly walked into a Baker’s Square and have been craving pie ever since.

The three of us chatted with Lorelle VanFossen, Liz Strauss (who looked quite hot with her new haircut!) and Chris Brogan (who looked great, minus hair!), then paused for a picture with others from SOBCon:

Glenda and I managed to communicate in a variety of ways. I used my super lipreading powers, she pulled out her fingerspelling skills and we connected. Occasionally we had a third person, an interpreter or her trusty alphabet sheet to rely on.

I flew to Pomona, California the next day and Glenda went on to rock the audience at SOBCon’09. Take a look at some of the blog reactions:

Is Your Blog Disabled?

Twitter Reactions

You Can Be on Oprah and Larry King

Making Me Cry

While I was sad to miss this year’s SOBCon, I was thrilled to join the Z Team at Deaf Nation in Pomona, California. My team mate, Jack Busenbark, cracked me up as he brought some super-sized bottles of Hand Sanitizer and insisted that we all practice “safe sales” in light of the Swine Flu:

The next day, the news reported a shortage of Hand Sanitizer. Jack’s fault. But hey, the Z Team all went home healthy.

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Rally for SB 68 Hearing Aid Insurance Bill

DeafMom — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:04:26 +0000

Today, I’m heading down to Springfield for a meeting to discuss SB 68 which would provide insurance coverage for hearing aids for Illinois residents of all ages. A group of us will be meeting with the opponents of the bill to hopefully reach a common ground in pushing a bill through for insurance coverage for hearing aids. Surprising to me is that the Illinois Academy of Audiology is one of the opponents for this bill. It is my understanding that they prefer to limit coverage to children only.

I know that there is a lot of fear that insurance premiums would rise outrageously if we were to pass this bill. I honestly don’t believe that will be the case. The bill is very reasonable– providing $2,500 coverage per ear, once every five years.

Reasonable.

Many insurance companies are now at the point where they cover bilateral cochlear implants without the long battles of yesteryear. One of my friends obtained bilateral cochlear implants not too long ago and she shared that the bill came to $225,000. She loves her implants and is enjoying all the new sounds she’s hearing each day. I am thrilled for her. I just want the same coverage for my family. There are ten of us with hearing aids. The hubby and I are wearing hearing aids that could use some repair. He’s got a broken T-switch. I have a broken battery door. We both could use new hearing aids but we’ll have to flip a coin to decide who gets one first. We hold off, because this is the last year our children quality for state aid for their hearing aids. What if one of them goes out?

Consider this– if all of us were to get new hearing aids at once, it is a tiny, tiny fraction of the cost of all of us getting bilateral cochlear implants. Just something to think about when we talk about insurance coverage.

Tomorrow, there will be a rally down in Springfield, hosted by CCDI and INCIL at noon. Meet at Adams Street, by the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel & Conference Center, 701 East Adams Street, Springfield, IL. Tomorrow is the deadline for this bill to be brought to the floor. What does this mean? It means that each one of us has to take some time TODAY to call your Senator and tell them you want this bill voted on and passed.

Here is a list of all the Illinois Senators and their contact information: Illinois Senators

Here’s how to find out who is your Illinois Senator: Find Senators by Address

The deadline is April 30th to get this bill to the floor and voted on. Call, write, email, fax, visit YOUR Senator and the following Senators (thank the co-sponsors!):

Here’s the contact information for the Senators:

Senator Ira Silverstein (Bill sponsor) isilverstein@senatedem.ilga.gov 217-782-5500

Senator Jacqueline Collins (Bill co-sponsor) : senatorcollins@sbcglobal.net 217-782-1607

Senator Dan Cronin (Bill co-sponsor): 630-792-0040

Senator Martin Sandoval (Bill co-sponsor): (708) 656-2002

Senator A. J. Wilhemi (Bill co-sponsor): (217) 782-8800

Senator Don Harmon (Bill co-sponsor): (217) 782-8176

Senator M. Maggie Crotty (Bill co-sponsor): (708) 687-9696

Senator William Haine (heads the subcommittee): whaine@senatedem.ilga.gov 217-782-5247

Senator Duffy: dan@senatorduffy.com 217-782-8010
Senator Forby: gforby@senatedem.ilga.gov     217-782-5509
Senator Hendon: ihammons@senatedem.ilga.gov      217-782-6252
Senator Burzynski: senatorbrad@verizon.net     217-782-1977
Senator Munoz: amunoz@senatedem.ilga.gov      217-782-9415
Senator Syverson: info@senatordavesyverson.com      217-782-5413
Senator Hayes: jhayes@sentedem.ilga.gov

The time is now to get this bill passed. Let’s make it happen.

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