There are so many firsts in a child's life, but few can compare to this one. It's almost too much for Mavis Malone: She can hear for the very first time.
"There's just that split second right before she covers them that I felt like she wanted to cry like, 'Ooh I heard,' you know?" her mother, Casey Cain Malone, said.
The 2-year-old was born a genetic defect, leaving her with profound hearing loss.
Hopes were high a four-hour surgery would change that. Doctors put cochlear implants in both ears, the devices delivering sound directly to the auditory nerve.
Now, without her mom signing, Mavis understands and a trip to the park with her older brothers is a whole new world.
"I'm happy that my sister can hear and I love her," said one of her brothers.
An end to the silence and a life, forever changed.