Sky’s the Limit for Young Girl Who Defies the Odds with Cochlear Implant

Chicago - It’s been said that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step. For a Chicago-area girl, Skye Carter, that journey continues to inspire others to make a move and listen to their inner voice.

With every beat, every move and every turn, Skye proves miracles are just steps away.

“I said if we just touched one parent it would have been worth it, and I've seen her touch so many families,” Skye’s mother Cheryl Carter said.

Thirteen years ago, Cheryl didn't even know if her daughter would walk.

“We began at six months ago, she wasn't sitting up, she wasn't alert as other children were, so in denial I had her hearing checked and she ended up having a profound sensory neuro hearing loss, which means it's as deaf as it comes,” Cheryl said.

Doctors told Cheryl her little girl would never hear or speak.

“She would never hear me tell her, ‘I love you,’ I just can't imagine not being able for my daughter to hear me say I love her,” she said. “It hit me like a tidal wave. It was a mourning; it was a death; it was a loss; all the hopes and dreams I had for my princess were shattered,” Cheryl said.

But through the silence, Cheryl found a voice of hope from a doctor at Children's Memorial Hospital.

At two years old, doctors performed a successful cochlear implant surgery. Cheryl vividly remembers the first time Skye could hear.

“They said, ‘Okay mom, we're ready for her to feel her first words,’ and I got a lump in my throat and got myself together and I said, ‘Hi Skye,’ and she looked at me and laughed and dove into my chest, and it was just a miraculous moment,” Cheryl said.

Since then, Skye’s journey has been nothing short of amazing.

This past fall, she walked the red carpet with Hollywood elite like American Idol founder Nigel Lythgoe at the star-studded Alfred Mann Gala. Mann was the inventor of the advanced bionics cochlear implant.

“I felt very honored to meet them and thank them for creating my cochlear implant, because I wouldn't be where I am in life now without the cochlear implant,” Skye said.

Skye was asked to perform a tango at the gala. She only had two months to prepare and had never even set foot in a dance studio, but she didn't hesitate even once when the offer came.

“And she said, ‘Mom I just read a book called "Do Hard Things", and I can do hard things. Yes let's do it,’” Cheryl said.

Then it just became a question of if a dance instructor could teach someone to dance who couldn't hear.

“Our passion when we opened Chicago Dance is anyone can learn to dance, so I told Dr. Young, ‘I think I can teach anyone, so let's give it a try,’” said Skye’s dance instructor, world championship dancer Tommye Giacchino,

Giacchino wasn't sure what to expect, but seeing Skye's progress still gets her choked up.

“Skye is not only wonderful, but Cheryl is a mother who is so supportive of her child, who has -- you can see from the energy that she has given every gift to this child,” Tommye said. “Skye has always had this magic in her and Cheryl just brought it out.”

And right now the sky's the limit for this young teen who embraces what God gave her.

“I think I am different than the other kids because I've had this amazing opportunity to dance in front of 400 people. It was amazing,” Skye said.

“From that first experience where I was told, ‘Your daughter will never hear, she will never speak, she'll have environmental sounds at best,’ to this star-studded gala in Santa Monica, It's amazing. Yes, it's been an amazing experience,” Cheryl said.

We wanted to talk to the doctor who made all of this possible for Skye. Her angel was Dr. Nancy Young from Children's Memorial Hospital, who joined us on the show.

Sky’s the Limit for Young Girl | Originally reported by: myFOXChicago.com