How Donnie found the light in flight

Donnie’s story

Written by Joel Dean and Jenny Antonakis

Donnie came into this world as a beautiful, healthy baby boy after a routine pregnancy. When he failed the newborn hearing screening on the left side, the doctors reassured us that there was nothing to worry about. “Babies who have had a caesarean section always have fluid in their ears,” they said.

A month later, the hospital tested his hearing again and passed. We trusted the results, but deep down, we felt something off. We now think it was a wrong pass.

Years of not knowing

What followed were years of searching for answers we didn’t know we needed. Donnie was colicky and suffered from constant ear infections and blockages. We made countless visits to ENT specialists, eventually having ear tube surgery at nine months old and adenoid removal surgery at three years old – and yet not a single doctor diagnosed what was really going on.

I thought maybe it was ADHD or he was having trouble focusing, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were missing something bigger. We moved to a new city and when Donnie had a routine physical exam with a new doctor at age 5, we finally heard: “During the hearing test, I turned up the volume all the way on the left side and he never raised his hand. You need to go to the audiologist immediately.” Just one week later we saw the words “profoundly deaf” on the paper.

The diagnosis felt like a punch to the gut. We were attentive and caring parents. How could we have missed this? How can everyone Missed this? We reached out to teachers, friends, and family, and each person responded that hearing loss had never occurred to them.

From fear to purpose

For a while, shock turned into fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the challenges that lie ahead. Fear that we won’t know how to support him the way he deserves.

Then Jenny (Donnie’s mother) decided to turn that fear into something meaningful. She joined the Board of Directors of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) as the first ever mother of a child with hearing loss. The Board welcomed Jenny with open arms, and was eager to hear her perspective and help other parents going through similar journeys.

Through HLAA, Jenny and Donnie were introduced to a community of amazing and successful people with hearing loss. This community has taught us so much about resilience, advocacy, and hope. Donnie received a cochlear implant at age six, and now has mentors he can call on when he needs support, as well as our family.

Choose positivity and light

Donnie struggles every day, but we choose positivity and light. We count our blessings in terms of health otherwise, and focus on what is below me He can Do, which, as it turns out, is everything. Donnie is a resilient, brave little man who knows that hearing loss does not define his limits. While a lot of things come with extra challenges, watching him overcome it all showed us how resilient he really is. He’s also incredibly compassionate. Donnie truly cares about helping other children with hearing loss and cochlear implants. We maintain an Instagram profile (@andonismason) where he shares his experiences and journey, hoping to connect with others and let them know they are not alone. We’ve received so many wonderful messages with strangers turned supportive friends across social media.

Whether you’re a parent just receiving your child’s diagnosis, a young person navigating school with hearing loss or an adult searching for connection, we want you to know: You’re not alone.

Donnie is currently working on his first book on hearing loss to share with the world. Maybe one day you’ll see him on the field as a professional athlete. After all, he had already proven that nothing could stop him.