I am Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza. Everyone calls me Kcat. I was diagnosed with NEUROFIBROMATOSIS TYPE 2 (NF2)in 2004. A very rare genetic disorder of tumor growth in the nerves including the brain area. I have tumors in my brain and scattered in my body. I was living normally just like everyone else until my disease caused complications. Total paralysis on my left hand, my left leg is partially paralyzed. I can’t walk.
My right face is partially paralyzed and I can’t perfectly move my face due to weak facial muscles. I can’t swallow well, I have a blurry vision, I can’t smile and most of all, I’M DEAF. My world became silent on January 2006. At first I thought that my hearing aid just run out of battery or was just defective, but when I had another hearing test, we learned that I totally lost my hearing. It didn’t really register to me at first, I was like: “I’m deaf, okay” I was in denial then. Until Holy Week of the same year, I got a little bit paranoid that I’m sick and I’m deaf. I kept on thinking about it and claimed that I was going insane, it was a week of sleepless nights until Easter Sunday, and I’m back to myself again. I wanted the world to stop or slow down a bit, just because mine seems to pause. But I did not allow that to happen, life must go on for me. With this condition, I can’t really do a lot of things. But I can still do a lot of things because I know I CAN. I’m deaf. So what? A silent world seems so depressing. Yes it is, if you will just concentrate on that thought. There are lots of great things that’s happening in spite and despite of everything. I have fully accepted the fact that I’m already deaf and there’s no assurance for me that I would be able to hear again. I live my day as normal as I can without being bothered by the things I couldn’t do. There are times that I thought everyone is not talking and the place is just silent or the volume of the television has just turned off, and then I would remember that I’m deaf. I don’t really complain about my deafness, it’s okay with me if I’ll be deaf forever because I know that when a person with NF2 disorder like me becomes deaf, there isn’t really a chance for them to hear again. It’s okay to be deaf, but I never lose hope. As what my ENT doctor said “Habang may tenga, may pag-asa.” (“As long as you have an ear, there’s hope.”) And yes there is! I accidentally searched on the internet about a device that can make me hear again and I really wanted it so bad. The sad thing is, it really costs a lot and we don’t have that amount of money to buy the device and have the surgery done. But everything’s possible and if you really wanted something, you’ll do all the possible way to make it come true. And it did come true! With the support from my family, my friends & strangers who became friends; I was able to raised funds and I am hearing the noisy world again. GOD IS SO GREAT! But my fight with NF2 isn’t over yet. I still have a lot of surgeries to undergo, medicines to take & physical rehabilitation to regain my strength. But our funds are not sufficient yet. But that doesn’t stop me from going through the challenges in my life, despite and in spite of it, I must do the the things that I still can to sustain my medical needs. Using what God has given me: my creativity; and my artworks will help me raise those funds for myself. Sharing my God-given talent and God’s works on me makes me stronger realizing that I have inspired so many people. If this is God’s purpose for me in this world, I’m moving my feet forward and I’m letting God lead my steps.
My right face is partially paralyzed and I can’t perfectly move my face due to weak facial muscles. I can’t swallow well, I have a blurry vision, I can’t smile and most of all, I’M DEAF. My world became silent on January 2006. At first I thought that my hearing aid just run out of battery or was just defective, but when I had another hearing test, we learned that I totally lost my hearing. It didn’t really register to me at first, I was like: “I’m deaf, okay” I was in denial then. Until Holy Week of the same year, I got a little bit paranoid that I’m sick and I’m deaf. I kept on thinking about it and claimed that I was going insane, it was a week of sleepless nights until Easter Sunday, and I’m back to myself again. I wanted the world to stop or slow down a bit, just because mine seems to pause. But I did not allow that to happen, life must go on for me. With this condition, I can’t really do a lot of things. But I can still do a lot of things because I know I CAN. I’m deaf. So what? A silent world seems so depressing. Yes it is, if you will just concentrate on that thought. There are lots of great things that’s happening in spite and despite of everything. I have fully accepted the fact that I’m already deaf and there’s no assurance for me that I would be able to hear again. I live my day as normal as I can without being bothered by the things I couldn’t do. There are times that I thought everyone is not talking and the place is just silent or the volume of the television has just turned off, and then I would remember that I’m deaf. I don’t really complain about my deafness, it’s okay with me if I’ll be deaf forever because I know that when a person with NF2 disorder like me becomes deaf, there isn’t really a chance for them to hear again. It’s okay to be deaf, but I never lose hope. As what my ENT doctor said “Habang may tenga, may pag-asa.” (“As long as you have an ear, there’s hope.”) And yes there is! I accidentally searched on the internet about a device that can make me hear again and I really wanted it so bad. The sad thing is, it really costs a lot and we don’t have that amount of money to buy the device and have the surgery done. But everything’s possible and if you really wanted something, you’ll do all the possible way to make it come true. And it did come true! With the support from my family, my friends & strangers who became friends; I was able to raised funds and I am hearing the noisy world again. GOD IS SO GREAT! But my fight with NF2 isn’t over yet. I still have a lot of surgeries to undergo, medicines to take & physical rehabilitation to regain my strength. But our funds are not sufficient yet. But that doesn’t stop me from going through the challenges in my life, despite and in spite of it, I must do the the things that I still can to sustain my medical needs. Using what God has given me: my creativity; and my artworks will help me raise those funds for myself. Sharing my God-given talent and God’s works on me makes me stronger realizing that I have inspired so many people. If this is God’s purpose for me in this world, I’m moving my feet forward and I’m letting God lead my steps.
“God is able to do immeasurably
more than all we ask or imagine”
(Ephesians 3:20)
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