“Eoghan has inspired us to see, hear and feel life in a new way”

Mum-of-three Orla Gibney from Mayo is behind the inspiring blog Our Own Journey, an honest and raw account of life with her youngest son Eoghan who is profoundly deaf.

Orla Gibney is married to Shane and together they are parents to three little boys. The Mayo-based mum has been blogging about her experiences parenting a child who is profoundly deaf. HerFamily spoke to Orla about two-year-old Eoghan, the inspiration behind Our Own Journey, and what she hopes to achieve by sharing their story with other mums and dads.

"Since we got married, myself and Shane have carried each other along a journey we had not packed for. The unexpected part of our journey began in November 2014 when our third perfect baby boy, Eoghan, was born profoundly Deaf. He has brought us on our own journey - hence the name of the blog - where he has inspired us to see, hear and feel life in an amazing new way."

Orla says that the inspiratipn behind her blog is hope and sharing that hope by telling her family's story.

"I started keeping a journal when Eoghan was born and recently had started putting pieces together. Our Own Journey is named after Eoghan and I hope that it will inspire other parents. Personally speaking, I understand the comfort that parents get from honesty when they are feeling so vulnerable. There is great solace in hearing other people's experiences and stories of survival. Our hopes were dashed so many times that we went from having no hope that Eoghan would hear, to him completely surpassing medical expectations."

In a period of just eleven months, Eoghan had 141 medical appointments meaning that the family travelled between Mayo, Galway and Dublin.

"After talking to other mums and dads online or at meet ups we all say the same thing 'I wish I knew this at the start' or 'I wish I did this'. I hope that parents will find inspiration or a connection from our experience. I hope the blog can extinguish some of their fears and anxieties about starting out on their journey, or that it will encourage more people to share their experiences."

Eoghan failed a newborn hearing test in November 2014 and Orla says that the fact she was already a mum helped her to cope.

"Eoghan's hearing loss was picked up from a newborn screening test which had not long been introduced in Ireland. We had no indication before this that he had any medical issues. Everyday I wake up and I'm so grateful for this universal test. As soon as Eoghan was diagnosed he became a medical baby, but I was grateful for every single hospital appointment as no stone was left unturned. We were lucky as Eoghan was quickly diagnosed at birth meaning a programme was put in place for him immediately."

The busy mum says she hopes that her blog will offer some comfort to any parent who is feeling overwhelmed.

"I was lucky in that Eoghan was my third baby... I had already the experience of motherhood and I had to keep myself going for my other children. If he had been my first baby it would have been very overwhelming. The blog is not just intended for parents of Deaf children but anyone that has received a child diagnosis or is feeling challenged by the demands of life. I want to reach out to these parents and let them know that they are strong enough to deal with anything."