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00:22:44
00:25:32
00:22:44
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Transcription: [00:22:44]
{SPEAKER name="Nathie Couthen/John Ennis (interpreter)"}
and I hollered some more. I thought, hmm nothings coming out so I screamed, screamed again and finally a woman came walking in and I looked at her and I how did, I don't know her. I couldn't hear myself. I wondered if my voice was working.

[00:23:03]
She said "what can I do for you?" I said—
The next thing I remember was in my parents' bed and I was asleep again

[00:23:12]
and I woke up and I saw, a big banner saying "we love you Nathie welcome home," and my brother was there, my sister, all these different aunt, uncles, cousins, family were all around.

[00:23:28]
Everybody was talking, laughing and I was looking at all of 'em and I began to cry, because I realized I was deaf. It wasn't that my voice was broke.

[00:23:48]
{SPEAKER name="Jo Radner"}
Thank you. Jack, you also became deaf after you'd lived for a little while. Could you tell us what that was like?

[00:23:59]
{SPEAKER name="Jack Gannon/John Ennis (interpreter)"}
Yes I was eight, yes. I became deaf when I was eight years old. I had spinal meningitis. I didn't know it until much later.

[00:24:11]
As I recall I went home after staying in the hospital and one day the ice cream man passed and I asked my mother if I could go buy some ice—ice cream.

[00:24:22]
Sure she gave me some money, I went out and ordered and got what I wanted and I said, "hey Mom the ice cream man talked to me and I didn't hear him."
"Jack don't you remember, you're deaf!" and I had not remembered that.

[00:24:38]
{SPEAKER name="William Ennis/John Ennis (interpreter)"}
Alright, thank you. I don't really remember anything about being born, I was born deaf. My parents didn't know anything about deafness really. A friend told them I think that 'I feel pretty sure that boy's deaf.'

[00:24:55]
My parents were resistant, doubted that. I think I must have been around two, two and a half and they thought I was just ignoring them that I didn't pay attention to the parents. You know how that's a problem with children. They did find out sure enough I was deaf.

[00:25:09]
Went to a school for the deaf when I was three. At that time, the late 1940's and people had not, thinking about sending people to school at that early of an age but I was sent there early.

[00:25:22]
I had to stay at a er, live in a dormitory at school, when I come home my parents come in and I could not really remember or recognize them, I had stayed so long at the school.