One video warming people's hearts features a baby hearing her mom’s voice for the first time.
Christina Pacala shared the video to mark her daughter Riley’s first birthday and to share the journey they’ve had as a family navigating deafness.
"This was a really special moment for our family," Pacala said. "You think about things like, will my daughter ever hear my voice. And, you know, at the time, that was ... a scary thing as a hearing person who doesn't know anything about deafness and about Deaf culture."
When Pacala, a first-time parent, found out her daughter was deaf, she said she quickly turned to the Deaf community as a resource and eventually had Riley fitted for hearing aids, resulting in the sweet moment captured in the video.
Pacala has been documenting Riley’s journey online, and said she's had the chance to learn more about the Deaf community and learn that there are plenty of other ways she can communicate her love to her daughter.
"She's full of energy, full of life, wants to explore everything, wants to know everything," Pacala said. "She's just the best. She's a happy girl."
