Katelyn Landry and her husband welcomed their second baby boy, Leighton.
They were excited about embarking on this new chapter.
Labor and Delivery went well; there was just a little hiccup when it came to Leighton's newborn screening.
"The newborn testing showed that he had hearing but that one ear was just slightly below hearing," Katelyn said.
Katelyn brought Leighton to specialists as she tried to get a handle on the abnormal screening. Through genetic testing, the Landry found out that Leighton has a rare disorder called Usher Type 1C. The "C" strand of Type 1 is the French/Acadian strand of the Usher Syndrome.
"We had no idea this was in our family history, nor did we know it existed. We got that confirmation in January and hit the ground running--talking to all of the Mamas and families."
Katelyn did all she could to help her little boy learn how to communicate with others. She put him in sign language classes and eventually qualified for cochlear implants.
"He got them in July," Katelyn said. "July was when he got the surgery done and we just got them activated three weeks ago, so he just got his hearing and he's doing phenomenal."
The moments following the first time Leighton heard a noise for the first time is something the Landry's will always cherish.
"Just such a relief to see him react to that beep and then he got to hear all of our voices... that was amazing in itself, too."
While the type of strand that Leighton has could eventually cause him to go blind, Katelyn said their family will just take it one day at a time and enjoy these little victories as they come.
For more information on Usher Syndrome 1C you can go to:
https://www.ushonesee.com/
More information about this disorder and the Usher Community here in Acadiana is also included in the link.
There is still time to sign up for the Ush One See 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. Just head to the link below for all you need to know heading into the event.
https://www.ushonesee.com/events