When Draeger was 11 years old she lost her hearing as the result of ear infections. By that time she'd had 18 operations on her ears.

"My father said, 'Never give up. There will be hope 50 years from now,'" said Draeger. She didn't have the same kind of faith her father had and gave up on ever hearing again.

But three months ago her hope was restored. Draeger had another operation, one that gave the 54-year-old mother and grandmother a second chance. "I had a cochlear implant," said Draeger.

A cochlear implant replicates the function of the ear by providing stimulation to the auditory nerve and allowing people to hear.

Draeger is thrilled with the results of her operation. "I can hear him now," she said playfully, looking at her son. "He has to watch what he is saying."

Before the operation Draeger was "100 per cent deaf," said her son, Norm Trottier.

"I couldn't hear a thing," Draeger confirmed.

She's still getting used to all the noise around her--noises like fax machines and music that wasn't around when she still had her hearing in the 1960s.

The joy of being able to hear her son and her grandchildren is indescribable. "It is amazing," she said.

"She always told me she wanted to hear the birds again. That is something she really missed," said Trottier.

She can also talk on the telephone for the first time ever.

Draeger remembers some of the songs she heard before going deaf. She especially likes music by the Beatles.

Having a hearing mom after all these years is a bonus for her son. "It's neat to have a hearing mom. I'm 31 and she can hear me now, and she can hear her grandchildren."

Being able to hear makes it a little easier for Draeger to babysit Taylen, four and Teela, 10 months. "She used to have to have Baby Cry--a monitor that was hooked to a lamp," said Trottier.

Draeger said the operation went extremely well--even better than anticipated. "They're very happy with me at the hospital," she said.

"She excelled in every test that they gave her," said Trottier.

By Isabelle Southcott