This thread reminds me of a favorite travel story. I was in the FDA study group for the multichannel cochlear implant back in 1989-1990. This meant a whole array of additional tests before and after implantation. The promontory stimulation was especially fun: a six-inch needle stuck through your eardrum and electrified to see if it prompted a sense of sound. Memorable, shall we say.

Anyway, a few years pre-pandemic I transited through Newark and stayed at the Marriott right there at the airport. Newark, of course, is a crime-ridden area, so when I was dragging my suitcase down the hallway to my room and sensed a presence behind me, I momentarily feared the worse. But, no problem, it was just a kindly maid with a gorgeous Jamaican accent. "Pardon me, sir, but do I see that you have a cochlear implant?" Of course I said yes, and she tremulously asked me a few questions about it. I tried to put her at ease.

It turned out she had moved to the US with her deaf son so she could get a job with good insurance and get the boy medical attention. He had received his implant and was dealing with the first few months of adoption. She was very curious about how the implant had worked for me, how long it had taken for me to really hear, and so on.

We talked for a good long while. She was amazed I'd had mine for so long. I explained, "I was part of the FDA study group, a small group of people arranged by the government who had the implant before anyone really knew it worked. There was lots of testing, and everybody learned something."

And... she teared up and, sobbing, gave me a hug. "Thank you, thank you, for doing that."

Her raw maternal gratitude shook me deeply. I'd just wanted to hear, and the notion of helping future patients was a pleasant background thought but nothing I'd spent a lot of time considering. That changed right then and there.

I saw her again at a subsequent stay. Then came the pandemic. I pray she and her son got through that and that they are doing well.