A Wallaceburg neighbourhood is taking life's lemons and making lemonade in hopes of helping a little girl hear.
On Saturday, a lemonade stand fundraiser was held for 12-year-old Alaina Moninger of Wallaceburg. Moninger's family is hoping to raise money to get her new cochlear implants.
Moninger was born deaf but misdiagnosed and the family didn't learn about her hearing impairment until she was 11 months old. Moninger received an implant on her right side in 2009 and on her left side in 2011.
Since then, her family has learned that her hearing implants need to be upgraded, with the left one currently not working at all. Both implants are now obsolete and unrepairable and cost $13,000 per ear to replace, with none of the upgrades covered by insurance. With funding from the government, the out of pocket expense is $6,500.
One of Moninger's neighbours, Tasha Dionne, was behind the "Help Alaina Hear" fundraiser on Saturday.
According to Dionne, a total of $6,400 was raised within a matter of hours. Dozens came out to show their support for the cause including the Wallaceburg Bantam Girls hockey team, which donated $400. Dionne praised the community for its support.
"We have been completely mindblown from all the support and amazing people in this community," said Dionne. "This is a great feeling to be able to help."
For Dionne, Moninger's story hit close to home for her and her family.
"Our two-year-old old daughter Melody has cochlear implants as well and was diagnosed at eight months old with severe profound bilateral hearing loss," Dionne explained. "We felt that maybe we can help with this lemonade stand. Little did we know how big of an impact it would have."
Moninger's family has also set up a GoFundMe page to help with any additional expenses.
