“It was very successful,” says Frost, who made a presentation at a University of Mexico campus to medical students with some tips on how to support people with visual disabilities in their country.
Frost – who has Usher’s Syndrome, a degenerative condition that gradually reduces his sight and hearing – also got to visit some of the kids he’s assisted to overcome their own impairments.
Frost received a bit of bad news to start – after a CT scan, it was determined an 11-year-old boy named Manuel would need additional operations to fix his auditory problems.
Frost had hoped hearing aids would be enough to help Manuel, although the pair he took down with him didn’t go to waste since Frost’s contact in Mexico found a 10-year-old girl named Delmy who needed hearing aids instead.
Frost also brought tools – such as a white walking cane and a cup that indicates by sound when it is full – to help a teen named Paulína who is losing her vision. He also learned of a happy ending for another young boy named Alejandro, who had a successful surgery to remove a tumour on his eye.
Donations largely from the east end community totaled around $2,500 to support the initiatives, which included the fee for Manuel’s CT scan – not covered by the Mexican health care system.
Frost hopes a concert or BBQ can be organized soon as he aims to collect $2,000 more so Manuel can pay for the future operations he’ll need to restore his hearing. “Here in Canada, we have things set up to pay for that – there, it doesn’t work that way,” Frost notes. “I said, ‘What if I didn’t raise those funds?’ and they said, ‘Well, they’d be stuck like that for the rest of their life.’”
Frost, also an athlete who hopes to reach the Paralympic Games, first decided to help the Mexican youth when he heard some of their stories while on vacation in Cancun between his speedskating and rowing seasons last year. “It rips my heart out,” Frost adds. “I know the resources that are out there, and how little it takes in our system to get the help. “The least I can do is offer this little service that can change their life. You can’t put a dollar figure on bringing back someone’s vision or hearing.”
For more information, visit deafblindspeedskater.com
