Formerly Deaf Woman’s First Concert? Megadeth, Of Course!
Megadeth's April 17 show in Las Vegas included one very special guest.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal shares the story of how frontman Dave Mustaine reached out to Sarah Churman, a woman who achieved viral stardom in 2011 after video surfaced of her hearing for the first time at the age of 29 after undergoing a procedure that left her with an implanted device called the Esteem. Like many viewers -- including Ellen DeGeneres, who had Churman on her show -- Mustaine was moved by her experience.
"It was such a heart-touching story to watch her," he explained to KTNV. "I consider myself to be pretty rugged, but I got a little teary-eyed when I watched her be able to experience what we all take for granted. And then somebody had said, 'You know, she actually likes your music.' And it was just great... When we found out that she was a fan, it was, like, this is a no-brainer. We wanna meet and just say how fortunate we are to be a part of her life and this new phase."
Her new phase now contained an expenses-paid trip to Vegas to see Megadeth play with Motorhead -- an experience that, as Churman told the Review-Journal, consisted of her first rock concert. "We pinch pennies and live on a shoestring, pretty much. So concerts are something we don’t get to go to very often. I’m excited...I was like, ‘Heck yeah, nobody’s gonna turn that down. That’s awesome.'"
And lest you worry that the ear-splitting volume at a Megadeth show might irresponsibly destroy those expensive implants, never fear. "Oddly enough, my cyborg parts -- they have a governor on it," she explained. "They shut down at a certain decibel, so you can’t damage anything."
To learn more about Churman's journey, you can purchase her book, 'Powered On,' which follows her on her "amazing transition from a life without natural hearing to a new world of sound."
Watch Sarah Churman Hear Her Own Voice for the Very First Time