In celebration of Better Hearing and Speech month, we had the honor of hosting Seattle Seahawk, Derrick Coleman, at Evergreen Speech and Hearing’s Redmond clinic this week. Derrick met and signed autographs for hearing and speech patients and shared his story of triumph over profound hearing loss. Derrick also spoke about his work with the No Excuses Foundation–managed by himself and his family–which seeks to encourage those with hearing impairment to take on the world with enthusiasm and a “no excuses” attitude. It was especially touching to see Derrick’s interactions with the children at ESHC. He had a lot of wonderful things to say, but among the highlights was something his dad used to say and still rings true today: “Don’t get ready…be ready.”
The line to see Derrick lasted about two hours and the event drew quite the crowd.
To ease the wait, our SLPs and coordinators passed out cookies and blew bubbles into the crowd, much to the delight of our little patients.
We also interviewed some children waiting in line. We asked them: If you could ask Derrick any question at all, what would it be? Here are the responses, along with some picture highlights from this fantastic night! ESHC is so proud and happy to have hosted Derrick Coleman at our clinic, and we thank him for his inspiring presence and awesome work in the hearing and speech world!
“What’s your favorite food?” – Bruce Sherwin.
“Why is this line so long?” – Abhiram Yakkali
“How does he catch the football?” – Zoe Christiansen. (Patients at ESHC for 2+ years.)
“What’s it like being on the field?” – Easton Rutter
“Do you like football balloons?” Riley Rutter
Derrick has fun with our patients and staff!
