Wife and mother Sarah Churman was born deaf and went 34 years without ever being able to hear. Sarah wanted more than anything to hear the sound of her children laughing or her husband say “I love you,” so when Sarah heard about a new implant on the market that could help her, she could not wait to try it.

Sadly, the implant cost $30,000 per year, and Sarah could not afford that. Sarah and her husband tried to figure out a way they could pay for the implant, but they could not figure out a way to budget it. Finally, Sarah’s mother-in-law stepped in to make an offer the couple was never expecting.

She told Sarah that she would be willing to buy one of the implants, but the money would have to come out of her retirement account.

Sarah’s mother-in-law knew how precious the sound of her grandchildren’s laughter was, so she made plans to take money out of her account to buy the implant, figuring that one hearing implant was better than none. Then, television host Ellen DeGeneres learned about what was happening, and she immediately knew she had to talk to Sarah. The young mother seemed nervous when she got on Ellen’s stage, a bit apprehensive to tell her story so publicly.

Sarah had no idea that Ellen already knew the whole story, and she had one huge trick up her sleeve that the mother and her family never saw coming!

Watch as Ellen reveals the heartwarming surprise in the video below, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see it as well!