"She’s given me my life back and I’m finding ‘me’ again"

This is her story:

When I lost my hearing suddenly, I literally lost ‘me’ overnight. In May 2021, I went to bed feeling ok and woke up around 4am to a very loud high-pitched sound in my ears. Then, I realised I couldn’t hear in my right ear. My hearing deteriorated even further, and I was eventually diagnosed with Ménière’s disease.

Losing my hearing really frightened me. That, combined with my balance issues, caused me to totally withdraw into myself and I wouldn’t leave the house. My home became both my sanctuary and my prison.

Night times were the worst. My youngest son, William, has type 1 diabetes. Just one night after I lost my hearing, Will’s blood sugars dropped severely. His ‘hypo’ alarm went off six times during the night and I missed every single one of them. Luckily my husband, Andy, woke up, but I just felt like a failure as a mum.

After that, I barely slept for three years. It had a severe effect on my mental and physical health. The only time I would get any sleep was at the weekend during the day, when everyone was at home.

Until then, I’d always been a confident, outgoing person. I lost the will to do anything and I stopped all my hobbies. I’ve always made my husband and the boys’ birthday cakes, for instance, but I began to make excuses not to because I no longer trusted myself not to ruin them. My confidence just left me, totally.

When my son decided to sponsor a Guide Dog, it got me wondering if there was such a thing as a dog for deaf people. That’s when I found out about Hearing Dogs. It felt like fate.

When I was told I’d been matched with Penny, I just cried. It was love at first sight. She’s given me my life back and I’m finding ‘me’ again. My sons have also said, ‘We’ve got our mum back!’.

William’s hypo alarm sounded the second night Penny was with us. We hadn’t even started doing soundwork training together, but she jumped onto the bed to wake me up. When I asked her, ‘What is it?’, she dropped to the floor to indicate it was an emergency. From that moment, I knew it was safe to sleep. Now I sleep without fear all night, every night.

Penny loves doing her soundwork. After alerting me, her tail is wagging. Then, she gets lots of praise and a treat, which makes her tail wag even harder! I’m a mum again in every way and such a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

After years of barely leaving the house, I’m now out walking with Penny every day. With Penny by my side, I feel more confident because people see her burgundy jacket and know that I’m deaf.

Since having Penny, my mental health is getting stronger. My doctor has also seen such a difference and I’ve already reduced my dose of antidepressants. I’m really hoping to come off them totally by the end of the year.

Penny is my missing piece, my best friend, my beautiful girl, my everything. To all the volunteers and staff involved in bringing us together, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My life is no longer grey. The colours are now beautiful.