Carolina Hurrcanes’ Goalie Cam Ward Shares Personal Story
By Jenny Lana
Cam Ward shares “The Bravest Guy I Know” about son Nolan.
The Carolina Hurricanes goalie, Cam Ward wrote a very touching article about his five year old son, Nolan Ward. I have always respected Cody Ward and all of the other Wives and Girlfriends (WAGS), but this brought a whole new level of respect. Not only do the WAGS support their respective boyfriends, fiancees, and husbands but they do a lot behind the scenes that go unseen and unrecognized.
For Cam Ward, having Cody is everything. Nolan Ward was born on Thanksgiving (November 24, 2010). Cam and Cody didn’t expect the obstacle that they would learn they had to go through with their newborn son. After all of the baby tests were administered, Cody and Cam were notified that their son failed the hearing test. That’s normal for a newborn, however after a series of follow-up tests, the doctors then determined that Nolan was deaf.
Now, where does that leave the Ward’s? Well Cam was on a road trip with the Carolina Hurricanes, when he and his wife got the news. I can’t even imagine going through getting news like that and not having your significant other near by.
From that day on, the Ward’s knew their lives were about to change. When Nolan was about nine and a half months old, Cam and his wife discussed the idea of cochlear implants. For those of you who don’t know what cochlear implants are or the purpose of them, the device is an electronic medical device that provides sound signals to the brain. It would be implanted in the receivers inner ear.
On the outside, a “processor” would be attached to the side of his head with a magnet. Think of it like a microphone that picks up all the outside sounds, and then transmits a signal to the electrodes in the cochlea, which stimulate the auditory nerve.
“I’d come home after a game and Nolan would tell me, Daddy, you really need to try harder to stop the puck.”
At that age, he only had his right ear done. There is so much that goes into speech therapy. At two years old, he said “I wuv you” and those were the first words Cam and Cody heard their son say. I can only imagine the happiness they felt. They worried like most parents do, about what kids would say to him once he started school or if he would make friends. This summer, Nolan got a cochlear implant in his left ear, to help him hear better. Crowds were a problem, because he could hear in one ear, but he wouldn’t know what direction the speaker was coming from. Nolan watches hockey games, plays hockey, and is a normal kid, just with a cool device that makes him able to hear.
Nolan Ward is a kid that has overcome obstacles that no kid should have to go through. He has a device to help him hear, his friends leave (by way of his dad’s team mates, specifically Parker and Levi Staal), and with his dad’s contract up he didn’t know if he would have to move away from his other friends. Thankfully for Cam Ward and his family, he signed another contract to stay with the Carolina Hurricanes.
They’ve made a home in Raleigh, and love it there. Cody is so strong to have to go through that obstacle with her husband away for the big milestones and learning that their son is deaf. For now, the Ward’s are staying in Raleigh which is good because their whole family is comfortable there and they all want to be there. I wish them nothing but the best and can’t wait to see Cam Ward in the crease.
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