Censorship is Alive and Well

I was horrified to find that this morning, a fellow Cochlear Implantee had been removed from Deafread simply because she was a volunteer for CAN (Cochlear Awareness Network).

So - If I am removed from Deafread after this post, so be it. What Deafread has done to Rachel is abhorrent.

I am a CAN volunteer here in New Zealand.

Like Rachel, I am not paid by Cochlear. My hours are voluntary. My blog has NOTHING to do with the awareness network - it's my own personal blog JUST LIKE RACHEL's.

So let's see what a CAN volunteer is...

From the CAN website itself..

'The Cochlear Awareness Network is a group of Volunteers each of whom have lived deaf but have had their hearing returned through either a Cochlear Implant or a Baha. They have chosen to be members of the Cochlear Awareness Network to tell their stories, raising awareness for these wonderful changes in their lives. All members are available to discuss their experiences.'

From that website you can see my picture - I'm the lady 5th from the left.

So what do I do as a CAN volunteer???

I give talks. I go out into the community and give presentations to community groups such as Probus, Rotary, Grey Power, Lionesses, Womens Business Groups, basically to anyone that wants a speaker. My talks raise awareness of deafness. I tell them how many people in NZ are deaf, and what it is like growing up deaf in New Zealand. I explain what a cochlear implant is, and how it works, in comparison with a conventional hearing aid. I discuss New Zealand's funding issues for these devices. (We don't have private medical insurance cover so we rely on Govt Funding). I give information of who could be eligible for a cochlear implant. Lastly, I tell people my own personal story, and what the cochlear implant has done for me.

When I'm not giving talks, I'm writing letters to MP's and to the Prime Minister on behalf of people on our waiting lists to encourage more funding for adults CI's.

I talk to prospective Cochlear Implantees here in New Zealand too. Again answering any questions they may have, and telling them what the implant is like for ME, emphasing at all times that it will probably different for them.

I occasionally help with research, and also occasionally get called in to talk to trainee audiologists, or trainee speech language therapists.

The most important part of the volunteer position is MY STORY.

My blog has absolutely nothing to do with CAN. Just like Rachels. I blog about what's happening in my life, whether it has something to do with my failed old implant, my frustrations in daily life, my new implant, or my photography. Even the cats I've rescued. But heck it looks like I'll be booted off Deafread now because I'm a CAN volunteer and I didn't disclose it.

But hang on - why should I? Do people have to disclose to Deafread WHO they are employed by? Who they associate with? What clubs they belong to?

Of course not - that's just rubbish.

So let's hear the REAL reason from Deafread, why Rachel got terminated.

OR - do the DECENT thing - reinstate her blog on deafread WITH an apology.