Teresa remained quiet as the doctor checked on her son, Timothy. This check-up was her last hope. She had to know what was wrong with her son. Timothy’s hearing was getting worse as the days passed and she had no idea why it was happening.
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Everything started a few months earlier after Timothy turned nine. He started responding to her less. At first, Teresa thought he was going through a rebellious phase by ignoring her at home. And what the doctor told her was something she would have never guessed.
Meet Timothy
Timothy liked to keep to himself ever since he was a toddler. He was not quiet and shy but he would prefer to play alone in the playground than with other children. As Timothy grew older, he spent more time playing computer games in front of the TV with his headset on.
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Teresa knew it was not healthy to let Timothy play computer games all the time. She was worried that this hobby of Timothy would later turn out to be a gaming addiction. When Timothy plays, the only way to talk to him is to go up to him and tap him on the shoulder.
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Was it her fault?
Teresa was worried that all this isolation would make him have a harder time connecting with kids his own age and she wanted him to have friends. Deep inside, Teresa feared that Timothy’s isolation is her fault. You see, Timothy was the result of an accidental pregnancy.
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Timothy’s father, Bjorn, was not ready and he did not want Teresa to keep the baby. But Teresa insisted on going on with the pregnancy. She always wanted to have kids and Teresa convinced Bjorn that they will be able to be good parents.
A messy split
But Bjorn became resentful about being forced into this situation. And this resentment had placed a strain on their relationship. By the time Timothy was two years old, they decided to split up. By then, their relationship was beyond repair.
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Teresa knew firsthand that growing up without a father figure is tough. But Bjorn was never close to Timothy in the first place. He would not help around unless Teresa begged him to so when Bjorn left, it was not really a major adjustment for her and Timothy.
An escape from reality
Timothy was probably too young to remember everything they went through but it does not mean that he was not affected. Teresa feared that her son had found an escape from reality in the video games he played.
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Then Teresa noticed that Timothy would not respond to her even without the headset on. He would say that he did not hear her talking when she had to call his attention. She suspected that maybe his hearing was affected by using the gaming headset all the time.
Enforcing rules
Teresa explained her worries to Timothy. She started restricting his gaming time and prevented him from wearing the gaming headset when he played. But the headset banning did not make much of a difference.
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Now that Timothy has to play without his gaming headset, Teresa was expecting him to be responsive. But this was not the case. Timothy seemed to have gotten worse without the headset. And what was worse was that other people were starting to notice Timothy’s unresponsiveness as well.
Struggles in school
Timothy’s teachers contacted Teresa to voice their concerns about how Timothy was struggling in class. At first, they thought he was just distracted but it soon became clear that there was something more behind it.
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Timothy’s English teacher suggested that Timothy may be losing his hearing. Timothy’s English teacher shared a theory about hearing loss. She had noticed that Timothy had the habit of poking his pencils and pens inside his ears.
There was one problem
After hearing this, Teresa can’t help but panic. For so long, she thought that the problem was Timothy’s attitude, she never thought that it could be because of hearing loss. One thing was clear, they needed to have Timothy’s ears checked.
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However, there was a problem. Going to the doctor will not be easy. Teresa had no medical insurance for herself. Technically, Timothy is still on Bjorn’s insurance plan but that would mean he would have to sign off on any payment.
Swallowing her pride
Teresa was not looking forward to contacting Bjorn but at this point, she knew she had no choice. She had to make the call. After all, she had never asked Bjorn for anything else ever since they parted ways. Bjorn ignored her calls. It was clear he did not want to talk.
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On the fifth day of trying to call Bjorn, he finally picked up. He greeted her with a rude and angry “What do you want?” Teresa flinched but she kept her nerves in check. After all, she was the one who needed Bjorn. She calmly told Bjorn that Timothy needed help.
Asking for help
Teresa explained the whole situation over the phone. She explained to Bjorn that she could not afford the insurance or bills on her own and practically begged him to allow them to use his insurance to cover up the expenses
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By the time Teresa was done explaining, it was silent on the other end. Teresa waited and the seconds felt like hours. She started to wonder if Bjorn had hung up on her. Then, Bjorn finally spoke and what he said surprised her.
Giving his consent
Bjorn allowed Teresa to use his insurance for Timothy’s check-up. But what surprised Teresa was what he said after. Bjorn added that if anything was wrong, he would pay for whatever Timothy needed. Teresa could not believe her ears.
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This was more than what Teresa expected. She thanked Bjorn for his generosity. Bjorn tried to downplay it admitting that it was the least he could do before he ended the call. With Bjorn’s blessing, Teresa immediately set up an appointment with the doctor for the next day.
An unexpected call
Once the appointment was made, Teresa texted the details to Bjorn and thanked him again. That night, Teresa could barely sleep. Her worries started to fill her mind. What if Timothy was really losing his hearing? He would have to go through a lot of adjustments.
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Then, Teresa’s phone started to ring. When she glanced at the screen, she was surprised to see that it was Bjorn. Did he change his mind? To her surprise, Bjorn was asking if they needed a ride to the doctor’s office tomorrow. They made plans for him to pick them up.
Realizing his absence
The ride to the hospital was very quiet. They all have not seen each other for a while and it was clear that nobody knew how they should act around each other. When they arrived at the hospital, it was clear that Bjorn was feeling out of place.
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Bjorn could not even answer any of the basic questions about Timothy such as his birth date. Teresa took over the forms and gave him a reassuring smile. After waiting for a while, a nurse asked them to follow her to the examination room.
The check-up
The nurse did the initial checkup. When she looked inside Timothy’s ears, she excused herself and without a word, left the room. Teresa immediately felt worried when the nurse came back with the doctor behind her, looking serious.
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The doctor took a look at Timothy’s ears and went over the nurse’s notes. He then asked Timothy if he was feeling any pain in his ear. Timothy said he never felt any pain in his ear but Timothy admitted that he did have difficulty hearing.
The diagnosis
The doctor then faced Teresa and Bjorn. He told them that Timothy was missing a part of his eardrum on one side of his ear. Plus there was also some serious inflammation in the area probably caused by all the times Timothy placed his pencil in his ear.
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The doctor confirmed that Timothy was going through a severe hearing loss. The doctor explained that one would have to experience an injury or a severe trauma in the area to lose part of the ear drum. But the doctor also added that Timothy’s case was different.
A hereditary condition
The doctor could tell that this was not caused by an injury. In fact, it seemed to be a rare medical defect that is hereditary. Teresa was surprised. There was nobody in her family who had ear problems. She looked at Bjorn who immediately looked guilty and confessed.
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His father’s uncle had it and his father had it. Bjorn and his brothers did not inherit it so he thought that the next generation was spared too. The doctor told them that had they had the issue checked early, Timothy’s hearing would not have deteriorated this much.
There was a fix
Teresa was upset. Bjorn never mentioned this. The doctor could sense an argument coming up so he cleared his throat. He informed them that the problem can be fixed with surgery. The procedure has a quick recovery period. Timothy would be okay in a couple of days.
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Bjorn agreed to do the surgery and scheduled it right away. Despite this, Teresa was still upset. When they got to her house, Teresa instructed Timothy to go ahead inside. Then, she turned to Bjorn, ready to unleash her disappointment in him.
Regrets realized
But then, she noticed Bjorn had tears in his eyes. Bjorn started to cry and confessed that he had a hard time living with the decision to not be a part of Timothy’s life. He had difficulty maintaining a stable relationship after Teresa and it was hard to start over.
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Bjorn admitted that he wanted to right his wrongs for some time now but he just did not know-how. Seeing Timothy today made him realize how much he missed as a father and he wanted to make up for the lost time.
It is never too late
Seeing Bjorn’s misery and guilt softened Teresa. She told Bjorn that although their love story was already over, he would always be a part of Timothy’s life. Bjorn will always be Timothy’s father no matter what and it would never be too late to start being one.
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Relieved that Teresa was willing to forgive him and allow him to see his son, Bjorn promised that he would cover the surgery. He also promised to reach out to his family to see how they coped with the defect.
Making up for lost time
Timothy’s surgery was a smooth and successful one. The surgeon assured Teresa and Bjorn that there was a huge chance that Timothy would regain his hearing since he was still young. Teresa was glad that things will go back to normal again.
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Bjorn started visiting Timothy regularly while he recovered from surgery, bringing him gifts and treats. It did not take long for the two to get to know each other again and seeing that made Teresa glad. Her relationship with Bjorn may have long ended but the one between Bjorn and Timothy had just begun.