Playing Poker CAN Promote Better Hearing...

So does Poker really promote better hearing? Well, it really depends on how you look at it. I have never really spent much time playing cards. Oh sure, I played penny poker in high school and a variety of card games over the years. I have also been accused of being a sports fanatic willing to watch anything that shows up on sports stations. In this vein I have watched a few poker tournaments over the years. I never really focused on the details of the game but found myself wishing I had. 

This last weekend I was privileged and proud to be invited to a charity event hosted by the Pros for Africa organization (http://prosforafrica.com) as well as the Starkey hearing foundation (http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org). The Pros for Africa organization consists primarily of NFL players that are involved in raising money and becoming involved on a first hand basis drilling wells improving living conditions as well as other humanitarian endeavors on the African continent.  The Starkey Hearing Foundation is one dear to my heart where the gift of hearing is delivered to children around the world by the tens of thousands each year by hearing professionals under the leadership of the Foundation. I have several close friends that regularly travel to distant parts of the world to fit hearing aids on children that may otherwise never hear.  These two charitable organizations decided to put together a charity poker event to bring better hearing to Africa.

The Raise your Hand for Africa charity poker tournament was held this last weekend at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas and as I said earlier I was privileged to be invited to be there and take part in this tournament. It was quite something to see the celebrities and athletes arrive to the throngs of fans behind the security ropes, while photographers snapped away from the press area. Being on the inside things were also chaotic with autograph seekers and photo opportunities. As I watched these athletes, these young men with a social conscience I could not help but be impressed to see that these were blessed and gifted individuals that still had a profound sense of social responsibility. 

I was especially drawn to watch Roy Williams, a hard-hitting free safety and six time NFL pro-bowler. What drew me to him was his natural ability to interact with people to make them feel welcome, to do the little things like sell raffle tickets, but most of all to hear him speak with passion for the cause he was there to support. To be authentic and genuine is something each of us should strive for in our interactions and this young man seemed to have it.

One of my good friends, knowing that this was obviously a famous athlete, came up to Roy Williams and jokingly pronounced “I don’t know who the @#$% you are but can I take my picture with you?" She quickly also added that she was off next week to Kenya on a Starkey foundation mission to fit hearing aids on children. It was at this point that Roy Williams, six time Pro-bowl safety turned to her as said,  “No but can I have my picture taken with you?" Wow, now that is the kind of thing that helps adjust your idea of what is important in life.

(This is the picture that was taken)

Playing poker for a good cause turned out to be a wonderful event. With a little advice from my poker playing friends and a whole lot of luck I was able to survive the cut from 50 tables and several hundred players down to the last 24 players. Beginners luck really does exist.

Events like this continue to remind me that each of us, whether we are football players or Audiologists have a responsibility to give back, especially to those who need it most. The real heroes in life are those that make sacrifices in their lives for others.

http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/10760-raise-your-hand-for-africa-charity-poker-event-takes-place-saturday-at-golden-nugget

http://icydk.com/2011/02/20/celebrities-gather-for-raise-your-hand-for-africa-charity-poker-tournament/

96 and Out Of Breath

My wife, an avid blogger, www.livinglovingbreathingboys.com  has finally convinced me to start a blog on Everything Related to Hearing. As a Doctor of Audiology, this could prove to be a discussion of things limited to the field of Audiology, however I would rather choose to share experiences and insights into the human element of what I do for a living.

I have a story I love to tell of a truly life altering encounter I had with a patient many years ago that I hope will set the tone for my blogs to follow. I was working in the office of an Otolaryngologists many years ago and was waiting on my next patient. I had been running a busy schedule and as per usual had reviewed the patient chart quickly to get an idea of what I might expect. The chart proved to have little information that might help me prepare other than to cue me to the fact that my patient was a 96 year old female. I formed in my mind a vision of a hearing impaired little old lady that would soon walk in my door. I began to get annoyed because either the patient was late or going to be a no show and therefore I was not going to make any money during this time slot. These dark thoughts had started to permeate my consciousness when a knock on my door cued me to the arrival of my patient. When my patient arrived she was indeed this 96 year old woman panting and out of breath. I started to panic wondering if my patient was going into cardiac arrest or something just as sinister. As if reading my mind, or the panicked look on my face the lady told me not to worry, she was fine. You see she had been at the gym in the pool swimming laps when she realized she better scoot on over to her appointment with me. This lady had hurried over and in the interest of saving time just run up to the fourth floor on the stairs instead of using the elevator and this was why she was out of breath.

My interest in this woman was peaked at this point and we began the discussion that changed my life. You see she said "when I turned 90 I decided it was time for me to make some changes in my life, I decided to start taking better care of myself and to try new things". At 90 years of age this lady started going to the gym and exploring the world of possibility in front of her. The woman was fascinating and had captured me with the revelations of her life in the last six years. Never having tried it but always wanting to this woman took an art class at 90 and the long story short was that at 96 she had been painting and selling her art for a living with great success.

This encounter in life has spurred a thought that has driven me along the way. You never know what you are capable of if you have never tried. Your talents can go unexplored if you stop exploring the realm of possibility. I was a young adult at that time and have used the knowledge gained in that encounter to propel me to constantly be looking for new things to try and to learn.  That little old lady shook my world as I knew it.