Help Nick Hear, Fund His Restorative Surgery!
UPDATED! Sweet Nick has just returned home after his first surgery at International Institute for Microtia Repair and he can already locate the source of sound and hear loud noises! There are two more surgeries to go and we almost have enough to pay his medical bills. There are only $12.000 left to collect for the kid to be able to hear the world!
Hello, my name is Marina and I'm trying to help a little boy named Nick (Nikita) Shachenok get his ear and the ability to hear the world. This lovely boy is from a small country of Belarus. Nick has just turned five. He has a bright smile, deep blue eyes but he doesn’t have an ear on the left side and his hearing is extremely limited. He was born with congenital aural atresia and microtia. One of his ears can hear a little, however, the other one does not hear at all. Nick’s limited hearing delays speech development and doesn't allow him to locate the source of sounds. E.g., Nick cannot hear and locate an approaching car. Every virus puts him in danger of becoming completely deaf.
Multiple in-depth medical exams (CT and AEPT) proved that Nick is the perfect candidate for hearing restoration surgery and his chances of being able to develop both mentally and physically are exceptionally high! However, Belarussian health care does not offer or subsidize restoration surgeries.
Nick’s parents did not want to give up and started looking for surgery options abroad. It turns out that Medpor Ear Surgery can be performed in California at The International Center for Atresia & Microtia Repair by Dr. Joseph Roberson and Dr. John Reinisch .
After the surgery, Nick’s life will never be the same! He will finally be able to isolate sounds in the polyphony of everyday noises and locate the source of a sound. He will hear speech directed at him clearly without constant repetitions and will develop his own speech that will sound more natural. How about wearing glasses or a mask? That will be no problem either. For now, there is nothing to hang them on. Viruses will not be that dangerous anymore- it will be possible to treat his left ear with banal ear drops and he will not lose his hearing due to a running nose.
Unfortunately, Nick's family from Belarus cannot afford medical bills, travelling to California and rehabilitation as the cost of surgery is $99,000. Moreover, after surgery rehabilitation costs and traveling will reach $15,000.
International charity organization UNIHELP helped Nick's family fundraise half of the sum ($48,980) while compassionate individuals of Belarus donated $35,865.
Nick needs $30,000 more to be able to get his hearing and the ear!
The abilities to breathe, walk, see, and hear are priceless. Please help by your donations and become a magician for this smiling boy! Let Nick hear the world!
Video of Nick and his family with English subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiENYbMvVxI
Nick’s medical history is here: https://littlear.club/#doc
I am authorized by Nick’s mom Anna Shachenok to start this GoFundMe collection. You can find her on Instagram (@annashachionok) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/anna.zhabchenko).
Dr. John Reinisch and Dr. Joseph Roberson are on Instagram: https://instagram.com/microtia_doctor?utm_medium=copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/atresiarepair/?utm_medium=copy_link