Father Of The Year Li Cunxin A Stellar Aussie Dad, Says Cochlear

Father of the Year Li Cunxin a Stellar Aussie Dad, Says Cochlear

MEDIA RELEASE

28 August 2009

Dr Chris Roberts, CEO of Cochlear Limited the global leader in cochlear and bone conduction implant technology and a proud sponsor of the Shepherd Centre Father of the Year Awards has congratulated Li Cunxin, 2009 Father of the Year, calling him "a stellar Australian father."

"We congratulate Li for what is a well deserved accolade," Dr Roberts says. "He is an exemplary person, who has inspired not only his own family, but also the wider community. Li has long been an ambassador for hearing health, and what better time to announce the award than during Hearing Awareness Week. It's also a doubly exciting time for the family, as Li's daughter Sophie, a bilateral cochlear implant recipient, was recently named winner of the 2009 Graeme Clark Scholarship."

In a speech to the National Deafness Sector Summit, Li described the journey from discovering that Sophie was profoundly deaf till now as a "very valuable education [which] has made us more humble and a better human being through helping and dealing with Sophie's disability. I really think it is possible to achieve impossible success if you truly have that determination, perseverance, persistence and use whatever the senses that God has given you."

"I think that aptly sums up just what Li epitomises," Dr Roberts says. "Quite simply, Li is a true role model, and he has imbued his daughter with his determination, dynamism and courage."

For Sophie, her father is quite simply "one of my role models for life."

"What really stands out about dad is that he is not a superhero, but a highly diligent worker, who really appreciates life and his family," says Sophie. "I guess because he grew up on only family pride and love - there was no food, no clothes, no money - he is constantly pinching himself being able to provide for my family - especially me - and still be able to achieve the big things.

"I think my father deserves this award because he has done so much not only for me, but also for society. My father has influenced me all my life. He read to me to help me to hear, he helped me with listening to music for ballet, he was ever so patient in teaching me his native tongue, he has never lost his temper with me. He has helped me to achieve the big things I am proud of and that is to hear, to dance and to speak.

"He has managed that so beautifully with his constantly busy work schedule, which also includes being on the board of the Bionic Ear Institute. He feels it is his duty to not only serve me with the best intentions in improving technologies through fundraisers and awareness, but also the general public, and those who are going through what I have been through. That is why I am proud of my dad."

Diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 18 months of age, 20-year-old Sophie was one of the first Australian children to receive bilateral cochlear implants (she had her first at age four in the US and the second at 14 in Australia). In 2008, Sophie successfully completed her Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) studies and finished in the top five per cent in Victoria. She's now studying architecture at the University of Melbourne.

Not only can Sophie communicate in English, she completed VCE Chinese, despite the enormous difficulties presented by the subtle intonations of the Chinese language. Her father admits Sophie is the best Chinese speaker of his three children (the other two have normal hearing). Sophie is now also learning Spanish as part of her university course. "My multilingual pursuit is fundamental to my quest to inspire others, particularly people with hearing difficulties, to learn foreign languages," she says.

Like her parents, Sophie loves to dance and has been dancing for 15 years. She teaches, and made history as one of the first cochlear implanted dancers to receive a Premier's Award for VCE Dance. She's an excellent ballet, jazz and tap dancer. In addition, Sophie is a keen volunteer for a range of charitable organisations and this year has begun to focus on helping the hearing impaired on a global scale. She is currently developing a website about cochlear implants so that people are better informed about implant-related issues. It's designed to be a vital resource for families, teachers, employers, friends and researchers.

"I was born profoundly deaf and like many people with disabilities, I have experienced difficult challenges and most have been devastating and confidence-shattering," Sophie says. "During such times, I look towards people like Professor Clark to gather courage to face the difficult task ahead. Ever since I learned that it was Professor Clark and his dedicated medical team who gave me the gift of hearing, I have been using him and his amazing achievements as my inspiration and motivation."

About the Graeme Clark Scholarship Australia/New Zealand
The Graeme Clark Scholarship is a unique award established to help recipients of Cochlear hearing solutions to further themselves by undertaking university studies. The Scholarship consists of financial assistance towards a degree at an accredited university and is paid in annual installments on the successful completion of each year of study for a period of up to three years. It is available to cochlear implant and bone conduction implant recipients who have been accepted into a university course or who are current university students. This includes mature age students. The Scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic achievement and a demonstrated commitment to the Cochlear ideals of leadership and humanity. The Australia and New Zealand Cochlear Scholarship honours Professor Graeme Clark, the inventor and pioneer of the modern day cochlear implant.

For further information or to speak with Sophie Li, please contact:
Lisa Llewellyn
Llewellyn Communications
0419 401 362 or (02) 9970 5312


SOURCE: Cochlear