Heather Whitestone

Heather Leigh Whitestone was born February 24, 1973 in Dothan, Alabama, and she was the first deaf Miss America title holder even though she had lost most of her hearing when she was eighteen months old.  She had haemophilus influenzae and was rushed to the hospital. The only way to save her life was to give her strong anti-biotics which left her with profound hearing loss in her left ear. He mom discovered her deafness by dropping pans on the kitchen floor and Heather did not respond.  Her mom then decided that Heather would read lips and learn to speak instead of learning sign language. She was critisized in the deaf community because of her decision to not learn sign langue.  She eventually learned how to use sign language but she still strongly speaks out against it.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Whitestone
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