By Ben Bartenstein | bbartenstein@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 08/03/2015 06:55:14 AM CDT
In the months after she went deaf, Mai Vang, 35, found solace picking up trash from streets and organizing fundraisers to support her neighbors on St. Paul’s East Side.
Now, a local business and a collection of online benefactors are returning the favor.
Earlier this month, ReSound North America, a Bloomington-based hearing aid distributor, donated a hearing aid for Mai Vang’s right ear. Meanwhile, donors have flocked to her online GoFundMe page to help pay for a cochlear implant in her left ear.
“The thought that most of them I don’t even know melts my heart and gives me strength,” Mai Vang said. “They want me to hear.”
Mai Vang created the GoFundMe page last week in an attempt to raise money for a cochlear implant, which doctors say is the only way for her to regain hearing in her left ear.
In nine days, more than 60 online donors have raised over $3,000. Mai Vang said she hopes her insurance will cover some expenses, although Dr. Matthew Carlson, her physician at the Mayo Clinic, said there’s a reasonable chance her request will get denied.
No responses yet