Lead Me Home (30 page)

I chose to tackle the issue of hearing loss in this novel, and specifically focus on a character who believed she couldn’t afford hearing aids, because some form of hearing loss is a growing condition among Americans of all ages, and few insurance companies in the United States treat hearing aids as necessary medical devices, thereby refusing full or partial coverage for their purchase. Having been personally diagnosed with mild hearing loss six years ago, I know firsthand how challenging it can be to secure hearing aids—something as critical to a person with mild, moderate, or severe hearing loss as eyeglasses are to a person with impaired sight.

Currently, a majority of Americans who need hearing aids must petition their insurance companies for coverage they may or may not receive, or pay out of pocket for the pricey devices (typically $1,000 to $5,000 per aid). If hearing loss is considered a disability and/or a medical condition, it is disturbing that these devices cannot be secured with insurance, leaving those who can’t afford the aids or obtain special approval from their insurance companies to miss important conversations and sounds, or learn to read lips.

If you don’t suffer from hearing loss, someone you work with or care about likely does. And whether those individuals are able to fully experience the world around them, or in some instances, maintain appropriate safety, often depends on whether they have personal funds readily available or access to a charitable organization that will help them cover the cost of an aid. You can help by contacting the Hearing Loss Association of America (www.hearingloss.org) or
the National Association of the Deaf (www.nad.org) to lend your support. You also can contact your leaders in Congress and ask them to support policies that will nudge insurance companies to cover hearing aids as necessary medical devices, when surgery or other forms of treatment aren’t ruled effective. By taking the time to advocate for others, you not only will have enjoyed a fictional character’s journey, you also will have made a difference.

—Stacy

Stacy Hawkins Adam’s love of writing has expanded from childhood dreams and a decade-plus journalism career to writing freelance and inspiring audiences on speaking tours. She is the author of eight books, including
The Someday List, Dreams That Won’t Let Go,
and
Who Speaks to Your Heart? Tuning In to Hear God’s Whispers
. Stacy lives in Virginia with her family. When she is not writing or speaking, she devotes considerable time to child advocacy issues.

Visit her at
www.StacyHawkinsAdams.com

ZONDERVAN

Lead Me Home

Copyright © 2013 by Stacy Hawkins Adams

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan e-books.

Epub Edition MAY 2013 ISBN: 978-0-310-33404-0

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Adams, Stacy Hawkins, 1971-

  Lead me home / Stacy Hawkins Adams.

       pages cm

  ISBN 978-0-310-33403-3 (trade paper)

1. Terminally ill–Fiction. 2. African Americans–Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3601.D396L43 2013

  813’.6–dc23

2013002812

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