Dear Alexander Graham Bell Community,
Following last weekend's Super Bowl, I have to tell you I believe we can do anything .
I sat at my desk in the Volta Bureau on Monday contemplating the challenges we face in our lives. Super Bowl Sunday was fresh in my mind, and Tom Brady & Co.'s impressive comeback was still resonating. Down 25 points, the New England Patriots came back to wrest what seemed like a sure victory from the hands of the Atlanta Falcons. No team had ever come back from more than a 10-point deficit in the Super Bowl, and the game had never before gone into overtime. The rest, as they say, is history and one for the books .
Tom Brady celebrates his 5th Lombardi Trophy.
In many ways, the children we serve are down 25 points before the game has even started - or more accurately, they're born 22 weeks behind in language development than kids born with typical hearing. But their parents - let's call them "managers" - and their therapists - or "coaches" - give them the support, training and encouragement they need to overcome their challenges and not only "tie the game back up" but win.
This is just one of the many things that bring me joy leading AG Bell. Our mission is so critical to so many, and the people we work with so admirable, that every day I witness incredible resiliency as we make our journey through life.

Plenty of people will tell you what you can't do. They will tell you that you can't become president. They will tell you that you can't sit at the same lunch counter as others. They will tell you that it's foolish to dream. They will tell you that it's silly to have ambitions, to want to make the world a better place. They will tell you that it's not possible for a child with hearing loss to hear and talk. They will tell you that it's impossible to come back from a 25-point deficit in the Super Bowl.
But if you work for it, you can make it happen.
No one expected Tom Brady and the Patriots to come back to win the Super Bowl. That didn't come easy. It came from a career of making this kind of "impossible" his specialty. Tom Brady is an amazing athlete, but that kind of resiliency isn't unique to him. In each of us, there's a place from which we derive that fight, that unwillingness to give up. Brady has that place in his spirit tapped and ready for any occasion. Your son, your daughter, your patient, and you, yourself, have this inside as well. You've used it before. Let this Super Bowl be a reminder that this resource is always there for you whenever you need it. It allows us to weather the tough times, to make it through and succeed despite whatever people say is possible or impossible.
AG Bell is there to help you find this strength. Know that I am always available to you. Email me at info@agbell.org or call me at 202-337-5220.
Until next week,
Emilio EAM signature blue transparent 
Emilio Alonso-Mendoza

 

Believe. No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted island, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.

Helen Keller