Child of courage award for Rachel

TWELVE-year-old Rachel Ritchie should be extremely proud of herself as much as her mother, friends and family are of her.

Rachel, who was born profoundly deaf, has just received a Children of Courage Award from the William Keown Trust.

The plucky 12-year-old was nominated by her Drumgor Primary School teacher, Mrs Stewart, and was awarded the Certificate of Merit.

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Rachel was awarded a large framed certificate which now hangs up proudly in her house and got to spend a morning with Craigavon Mayor Stephen Moutray, wearing his chain of office and sitting on his meeting chair.

From Rachel was just six weeks old her mother, Donna, knew something wasn't fully right with her hearing. Indeed, there is a history of deafness in her family, Donna's brother is also profoundly deaf.

Donna explained: "She never responded to noise, I've since learned we have a one in seven chance of having a deaf baby. From the moment she was born I would have tested and watched her. I'd turn on the hi-fi and she didn't flinch.

"When she got bigger I took her to the health visitor, she said I was being an overprotective mother."

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However, Donna was desperately worried about her daughter and decided to have further tests done, it was then that Rachel was diagnosed with a profound hearing impairment and at eight months old she was wearing a hearing aid.

Explaining how she felt when the news was broken Donna said: "Initially I was devastated, she was my baby and she couldn't hear. But I've always looked on her as a normal child."

When Rachel was two years and nine months she got a cochlear implant inserted into the left side of her head, this implant feeds sound into her brain allowing her to hear more clearly. Donna said: "She was the most exceptional child in the hospital and responded to the implant very well."

Now Rachel is twelve years old, looking forward to attending her first year at Brownlow High School in September. She told the 'MAIL': "I'm looking forward to it, but I'm a bit nervous."

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Donna said: "Rachel has never let her deafness hold her back, she never questions it or ponders over it and gets on with her life like any normal child with a smile on her face every day."

Rachel is involved in many clubs and activities both in and out of school. She enjoys gardening, tennis, hockey, rugby, water sports and cross country running.

When asked about her favourite sport, Rachel flashed her brightest smile: "Football, I love the skills, kicking the ball and dribbling."

She's a big fan of Manchester United, loves Wayne Rooney and met Sir Alex Ferguson at the cochlear centre and was given a framed signed football shirt from him. Since primary four Rachel has also enjoyed writing poems.

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Rachel's disability has never made any major impact on how she lives her life, she said: "I do what I can, sometimes I can get behind a bit with English and Maths, if there's something I don't understand I get a bit of help from my peripatetic teacher."

As for her ambitions she said: "I have lots of things in mind. I would like to go to university to become a vet, midwife or doctor. Then I'd travel the world and eventually settle down somewhere with warm weather.

"I'd love to open my own shop someday."

Rachel is a genuine, lovely, well mannered and polite girl, her mum said: "We're all very proud of her, she's a great wee thing, a lovely child, pleasant. polite and always very happy."

The William Keown Trust is a charity that recognizes the accomplishments and courage shown by children and adults with disabilities from every area of the province and creates community awareness that disability doesn't mean inability.