A sign of a new friendship: Fort Wayne boy, Colts Cheerleader discover mutual language

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A Colts Cheerleader and fan recently connected over communicating through sign language.

You might’ve seen the video when scrolling through social media pages.

WATCH: Colts Cheerleader knows American Sign Language

But did you know the family is from Fort Wayne?

Veronica Ochoa grew up and went to North Side High School, and in 2016, she gave birth to her son Mark, and soon found out he was born deaf.

Mark has had numerous surgeries and faced isolation, not being able to communicate with others.

Ochoa then made the difficult decision to move to Indianapolis just a few months ago.

“I sacrificed a lot, and I was packing our bags, (me and my son) moved down to Indy so he could get the proper education he deserves,” Ochoa said.

Once they moved, Mark started attending the Indiana School for the Deaf, and Ochoa continued advocating for the deaf community on social media platforms.

Soon after, Ochoa and Mark received Colts tickets from her parents for Mark and her for the first time, and that’s when she had an idea.

“You know what, I’m just going to make a video, and maybe somebody will watch this video,” Ochoa said. “So, I made a video that was like all of Mark’s internet aunties, uncles, let’s just try to tag the Colts to see if Mark can get field passes or meet a player or two.”

The Colts answered the call, and Mark and his mom got to go on the field before the game, where there would be a special surprise waiting.

“Walking out on the field and immediately seeing him light up and Veronica light up... I knew it was a special moment,” Morgan M. said.

Mark got to meet cheerleader Morgan M., who studied ASL and signs regularly. She stayed with him on the field for 30 minutes communicating.

But what happened next, Ochoca never predicted.

“I wasn’t expecting the video to take off like it did. I was like, okay, maybe post it on TikTok, it’ll reach some people, but NFL posted it, ESPN, SportsCenter, Colts, Colts Cheerleaders, everybody saw it,” Ochoa said. “It just brings so much joy to me because I feel like that was the purpose of this video is to show that interaction, and just how easy it is to learn ASL.”

Morgan M. also said she never expected the impact of the video and how much Mark would have an impact on her, too.

“For Mark, it’s probably harder for him to connect with people when they aren’t able to sign, so I think that hopefully this just showed him that people are able to communicate with him and to put himself out there because you never know who might know sign language,” Morgan M. said.

The video shows a short reflection of the impact one kind interaction can make.

Ochoa’s next goal is to continue raising awareness for the Indiana School for the Deaf.

If you are interested in donating to the cause, you can email secretary@adhoosiers.org, or you can go to IAD Homepage.