Everly Paddock loves making friends. At five years old, she attends kindergarten in Ontario, Canada, where new faces and adventures await her every day. However, Everly faces a unique challenge: her vocal cords have been partially paralyzed, making it difficult for her to raise her voice above a whisper.
\"You see it at school,\" says Everly's father, Jeff. \"She'll go up to anyone and start a conversation. Most kids are open to that. But after a few seconds, they realize they have no idea what she's saying. So her circle of friends is slowly moving away.\"
A Parent's Pain
Everly was born nearly 16 weeks premature, a time that required doctors to insert a special tube down her throat to help her breathe. What was expected to be a temporary measure turned into a long-term necessity. \"They would take out the tube, but then her oxygen levels would fall and you could tell she was struggling to breathe,\" Jeff explains. \"They tried to remove it on eight different occasions, but they had to re-insert it again and again.\"
Despite these challenges, Everly’s resilience shines through as she navigates the complexities of making friends and finding her voice.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
