Heather Whitestone lost her hearing at 18 months old due to a virus but was saved by antibiotics. She became the first deaf person to be crowned Miss America in 1995. As a ballerina, she had 15 years of training since age 6. When she won Miss America at age 21, the runner up had to notify her of her win since she couldn't hear the announcement. She later married and had two sons, writing three books about her experiences.

1. Heather Whitestone Miss America 1995

2. Heather Whitestone Heather Whitestone lost her hearing when she was 18 months old because of a virus. She almost died from this virus, but the doctors gave her two very strong antibiotics that saved her life. In 1995, Heather W. became the first person with a disability to be crowned Miss America. When she won, the runner-up had to motion to her that she had won because she could not hear the announcer say her name.

3. She is a very accomplished ballerina, she had 15 years of training. Heather has trained since she was about 6. Heather, age 12 (left) and performing ballet (right).

4. When Heather Whitestone became Miss America, she was 21 years old.

5. Heather was married to John McCallum in 1996. They have two boys, James and John. James is the younger of the two.

6. Heather and her family adopted a small pony. They named it Charlie Brown after the Peanuts character .

7. Heather has written three books. They are: “Listening With My Heart” (1997), “Believing The Promise” (1999), and “Let God Surprise You” (2003).

8. I hope you have enjoyed my Heather Whitestone presentation. Alexandra R. Nelson

9. Pictures and information were found at: www.pbs.org www.query.nytimes.com www.heatherwhitestone.com www.google.com www.unchealthcare.org www.dailytexanonline.com www.wikipedia.org www.deafness.about.org www.uad.org