In this season of giving, Mathew, who is deaf in one ear, received the gift of sound – just in time for Christmas.

"It's wonderful," his father, Edson Neto said later, as Mathew sat in a soundproof booth, responding to the tiny beeps and whispered words of a hearing exam. "Wow. I can't believe it."

Like a domino effect of goodwill, Mathew's present was the result of good timing, an anonymous gift to the Plano Children's Medical Clinic and, if you ask his grateful parents, some divine intervention.

The clinic provides immunizations and basic health care to uninsured and low-income Collin County children for a $5 fee.

An anonymous couple recently gave the nonprofit clinic a $50,000 donation. But the money must be used to help children whose medical needs wind up being beyond the clinic's normal scope. To that end, the clinic's board created the Patient's Assistance Care and Emergency (PACE) Foundation.

"Through this foundation we will be able to help children like Mathew receive the medical assistance that we have never been able to provide," said Susan Shuler, the clinic's executive director.

Mathew is the first PACE recipient. His parents, Edson and Romilda Neto, said they could not otherwise have afforded the $3,000 digital hearing device.

Natives of Brazil, Mr. and Mrs. Neto clean Collin County homes for a living and have no health insurance.

Michael Gehan, an audiologist at Achieve Hearing & Rehabilitation Inc. in Plano, provided the hearing aid at cost. The foundation grant covered the difference. Mathew, a sweet third-grader with expressive brown eyes who is proud of his perfect attendance and good citizenship awards, received the hearing aid Wednesday, after school let out for winter break.

The device works off radio waves. It transmits the sounds on Mathew's deaf side to his good ear.

He and his parents watched closely as Mr. Gehan explained how to adjust, operate and clean the device, which can be ruined if it gets wet.

"Where do I put it if it snows?" Mathew asked, the hope for an unlikely winter wonderland in North Texas clearly on his mind.

Seventh Day Adventists, the Netos are active members of a Dallas Brazilian church.

Mr. Neto said the congregation has been praying every Wednesday night for six months for their son's hearing to be restored.

The Netos suspected Mathew might have a hearing loss. He always turned his good ear toward a speaker's voice and cranked up the volume on the family TV set, his dad said. Two years ago, a school nurse confirmed the hearing problem. It gradually worsened until last year, when a diagnostic test revealed he'd lost 100 percent in his right ear.

Mr. Neto said the family was baffled about a cause. Mathew wasn't in any accident. One doctor told them it could be something he was born with.

Aware of their modest financial situation and desire to have their three children succeed in school, one the Netos' customers wanted to help. She told them about the Plano Children's Medical Clinic.

There, they met Alex Huffman, a young social worker in her second week on the job. Ms. Huffman helped the Netos locate the audiologist and other needed resources. Because background noises in a noisy classroom or cafeteria could be a problem, she is working with Plano school district officials to see if they will buy a separate device that Mathew's teachers can use to improve communication with him.

"Ms. Alex is like an angel," Mr. Neto said, translating in Portuguese for his wife, who agreed. "She's an angel."

While Mathew, who wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up, is thrilled to be able to hear on both sides – he said all he really wants for Christmas is a pet rabbit.

Ms. Huffman got him a cuddly toy rabbit instead.

By Linda Stewart Ball
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/columnists/lball/stories/DN-ballcol_25cco.ART.North.Edition2.3e67325.html