NBA Basketball Legend Kevin McHale Supports Cochlear Implants For Kids

By Jake Copithorne

Former Boston Celtics great and current Minnesota Timberwolves General Manager Kevin McHale has recently made news for his 5-for-1 NBA mega-trade, but it’s his 4-for-1 deal that’s been turning heads outside the basketball world: four cochlear implants for the cost of one. In partnership with four other board members, McHale has co-founded the Help Me Hear Foundation, an organization dedicated to granting free cochlear implants to impoverished deaf children. He will also act as the foundation’s national spokesperson.

The cost of a cochlear implant, including the required surgery, can range from $30,000 to $50,000. The necessary post-op rehabilitation can be equally expensive. But HMH plans to cut that often unaffordable price tag to only $7,000, all paid by tax-deductable donations to the foundation. If McHale could make bargains like that at his day job, the Timberwolves would have made the playoffs! HMH has the ambitious goal of granting 200 cochlear implants to deaf children by the end of 2008, and then doubling that number in each of the following three years. By 2011, the organization hopes to have provided a total of 1,600 cochlear implants to children in need.

Hearing impairment and deafness in children can cause major developmental setbacks. For families who cannot afford appropriate care for a deaf or hard-of-hearing child, these setbacks can become permanent. According to the HMH website, “At a minimum, a deaf child will not be able to communicate via spoken language, will develop reading skills more slowly, will have more difficulty understanding mathematical concepts, and will be limited in schooling and vocational choices.” Emotional isolation and stymied social development can result.

However, a cochlear implant can have a dramatic effect on normalizing the development of a hearing-impaired child. The ability to hear sounds translates into an ability to communicate orally, a crucial skill that alone can prevent developmental stumbling blocks. According to a press release distributed by the foundation, the impact of a cochlear implant can be so profound that a ten-year-old child who received a cochlear implant at age one or one and a half would be indistinguishable from hearing children to most people.

Kevin McHale summed up the importance of the Help Me Hear Foundation’s work when he explained why he decided to get involved: “Every child deserves a chance to hear. I love the fact that the goal of this organization is to create independent, productive people. It’s a small, one time, investment that will have a lifetime of benefits. The impact will be felt not only by the children, but, by the families of these kids. I’m just happy to be a part of it.”