Heather Whitestone

(http://www.myesther.net/)

Born in Dothan, Alabama in April 1973, Heather Whitestone McCallum lost her hearing at 18 months of age. She had a dangerous high fever, which was diagnosed as the Haemophilus Influenzae Virus. Her life was saved by two antibiotics, but the medicine caused damage in her ear. She became deaf with no hearing in either ear.

Determined to have a normal life, Heather studied in a hearing public school and became the only deaf student in the whole school. In fourth grade, Heather learned the story about Hellen Keller, who would forever change her life.

At the age of eleven, Heather was falling behind in school. Then, she asked her parents to send her to the Central Institute of the Deaf in St. Louis. There, she learned sign language and met a lot of deaf children from all over the world. After three tiring but exciting years, Heather caught up with her lessons and returned to Alabama to graduate from public school.

Heather attended college and began to compete in local pageants. For some girls, competing in pageants was only for fun. But, Heather saw it as a way to help her to pay for school. She began competing in order to earn the scholarship money that would be given for the winners.

Heather with her children (http://www.myesther.net/)

Heather was first runner-up in Shelby County Junior Miss pageant and the Miss Mallard contest. In her third attempt, Heather won the Miss Alabama pageant and she went on to compete in Miss America 1995. She danced the ballet "Via Dolorosa" and impressed all those who watched her from around the world. Then, Heather was announced as the first Miss America with a disability in the pageant's 75-year history.

During her year as Miss America, Heather had done a lot of things. She introduced the world to her five-points STARS program that consist of positive attitude, a goal, a willingness to work hard, a realistic look at your problem and a suppot team. She also travelled around the country speaking to corporation, non-profit organizations, churches and goverment. She got the opportunity to learned from many corporate sponsors who supported the Miss America Organization. She wrote about her life experiences in a book called "Let God Surprise You: Trust God with Your Dreams"

When Heather visited the Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich at the Capitol Building, she met with her future husband, John A. McCallum. They were married on 8th June 1996, live in Atlanta and they are blessed for having two children.

In 2002, Heather decided to have a cochlear implant operation in her right ear. And, she had the opportunity to learn the new sounds that she heard with her cochlear implant.

I choose Heather Whitestone as my hero because I really admire her spirit to live on although she is deaf. She never gives up and has confidence in everything she is doing. She had proved the world that one can surpasses obstacle with hard work, strong desire and God's help.