Hearing AIDS: How a Deaf Child with AIDS Taught Me to Hear God's Voice

Description

Before 8-year-old Maegan died with AIDS, she hid gift-wrapped trinkets and notes throughout the house for her parents to find after she went to heaven. One gift simply said “Hope.” Maegan’s story is precisely that: a message of hope that has touched the lives of millions around the world.

Maegan was born with HIV, and after her birth mother’s death, Maegan was struck with spinal meningitis and became deaf. Her father, Jeff, was heartbroken and overwhelmed.

In 1991, Vanessa VanCleave began dating Jeff. And time with Jeff meant time with Maegan—a frustrated and confused child, who would point and scream because she could not communicate. Vanessa recognized Maegan’s desperate desire for communication, so she began to teach her American Sign Language.

But it was Maegan who would ultimately become the teacher and Vanessa, the student.