Andrea was born on May 28, 1987 and was 2 months early via emergency C-section delivery. She only weighed 2 lbs and 4 oz and the doctors said she would not live. However after 8 blood transfusions, great hospital care and almost 8 weeks in the hospital, she survived! She was very tiny and at 4 pounds, came home on oxygen and heart monitors.
She participated in the Parent Infant Program throughout her infant development. When she was 18 months she was diagnosed as hearing impaired. At the age of two, she was wearing hearing aides and glasses due to poor vision. Andrea also had problems with her legs and could not walk. She wore leg braces for almost a year and was never expected to walk, but through many months of physical therapy at Primary Children’s Hospital, she did!
At age 7, Andrea was diagnosed with a tumor in her left eye which caused the removal of her left eye. She had such great support from her family, friends and her school, and with the help of the Moran Eye care Center who helped educated Andrea on her vision loss.
Andrea loved to dance at a young age and currently continues with her passion of dancing. Throughout her life she attended Camp Kostopulos every summer and loved camping and fishing. She learned to ski through the National ability Center and learned to swim at a very young age through the recreation centers. Andrea is currently employed with Sorenson Communication and has also attended Salt Lake Community College.
Her biggest challenges have been getting hearing persons to understand and accept her as a person and not as a disabled person. She wants to continue her education to be able to help others in the deaf community to receive the same opportunities to succeed in a hearing world. She believes that the hearing community involvement with the deaf community would give them a broader understanding of the needs of the deaf community.
As Miss Deaf Utah, she is a representative for the deaf community and will appear at many community events to support the deaf community in many various ways. She is going to compete in Miss Deaf America Ambassadorship Program in July 2010 in Philadelphia, PA, where she will meet deaf leaders and other state Ambassadors. Miss Deaf America is part of the National Association for the Deaf. She wants to be a positive role model for other young people to have the confidence to achieve all they can be as a person, not as a person with a “disability”.
