Henry's Christmas Wish - Two Big Ears!

This is Henry Noble!...or "Big Henry" as he calls himself.



Henry is 6 years old and is one of the sweetest kids you will ever meet.  Henry is the son of two of our friends, Josh and Stacy Noble who have 3 other children, Kalem (10), Ellie (9), and Sully (5). The Nobles have raised Henry and his siblings in Florence, SC for over 10 years. 

Henry is an energetic, silly, protective, smart, sweet and full of life kind of little guy!  He was born with a very rare condition called Microtia Atresia and Hemifacial Microsomia.  Basically, he has a severely underdeveloped ear with no ear canal and the right side of his face is smaller than the left side.  When Henry was born, his parents, had a lot of questions with very little answers.  



Henry has profound hearing loss in his right ear due to lack of an ear canal and ear drum. He has worn a bone conduction hearing device on a soft headband since he was about 3 years old in order to hear on the right side. Aside from the physical difficulties of this condition, it has affected Henry socially and emotionally. Wearing a medical headband with a hearing device on it every day is tiresome for a preschooler and brings with it lots of stares and questions from both children and adults. Teasing from his peers would sometimes result in a lack of confidence. 

Henry’s condition could even make small things difficult. For example, something as simple as getting his mask wet at school would result in a trip to the nurse’s office and a call home because the school didn’t have a mask for a little boy with one ear. These are huge anxiety inducing times for Henry because he has to sit in the nurse's office without a mask, miss class and part of his education all because his ear is not big enough to securely hold a mask. 

Every time they went out, people would point, stare and ask questions even in front of his sister and brother.  The question that was always asked was, "When are you going to fix his ear?" and every time they would kindly say, "God made him special".  The stares and questions have not stopped for him the older he gets and he would rather hide than to be noticed.  His sister and brothers protect him and field unwanted questions.  

Stacy and Josh love everything about Henry and would never want him to be different than the way God made him unless it bothered Henry.  From the time he was born, Stacy said that she would not make any decisions about his ear, and that Henry would be able to decide if and when he wanted an ear.

Last year, Henry told his mom that he wanted two big ears like everyone else and that there wasn’t anyone like him with a little ear and that he was all alone. In order to help Henry feel like he wasn’t alone, they adopted a dog they named Podkin. Like Henry, Podkin was born with Microtia and has an underdeveloped left ear. Podkin comforts Henry and reminds him that it’s cool to be different. When Henry brought his new dog to school to show off their matching little ears, Stacy thought that would stop the stares and questions.  That really helped at school but not in real life.  Other kids teased him.  



Josh and Stacy intended to wait until Henry was older and expressed a desire for medical treatment. However, recently they noticed Henry eating more food than usual...a lot more than usual. When they asked Henry why he was eating even when he wasn’t hungry, he said, "I have to eat a lot because I need to get bigger!  When I get so big, then my ear will pop out like a flower!" 

It became obvious that Henry’s condition was having a greater effect on him than he had led them to believe and that it was now time to look into medical treatments that could help him.

After hours and hours of research, they discovered that there are 3 possible treatments for Microtia: prosthetics, surgical rib graft reconstruction and porous polyethylene implant ear reconstruction (PIER) surgery. They also determined that the first 2 methods are not appropriate for a young child.  

After more research and reaching out to other families who have children with Microtia, Josh and Stacy realized Dr. Sheryl Lewin in California was their only choice!  Her field of expertise is Microtia Ear Reconstruction, and her complication rate is almost 0%!  She is the only one in the world that is able to give Henry a 3-D one piece SuPor (Porous Polyethylene) ear implant that will look identical to his other ear!  At the same time, she will put a bone anchored hearing aid in so that Henry will be able to hear like you and I!  Josh and Stacy had a consultation with Dr. Lewin and were able to schedule Henry’s “Big Ear” surgery for May 2021! 

Henry is excited to get a “Big Ear” so he can wear sunglasses like his friends and be able to wear a mask and be completely safe just like his friends! His parents are looking forward to no more stares and questions about his malformed ear that causes such heartache for him. Henry will be able to start first grade with the normal excitement of any 6 year old child – minus the additional anxiety of having to explain his differences. 

While the whole family is excited for Henry to have his surgery, the cost of the surgery is troublesome. IF their insurance covers the surgery, (and that is a big “if” because the surgery center doesn’t accept insurance although they will file it for patients) the price tag is still $24,000 - $34,000. Of course, if the insurance company likely denies the claim, Josh and Stacy will be facing a much higher bill. One family that Stacy met while researching ended up paying $54,000 after having the same procedure for their child because insurance denied the claim. They will also have to stay in California for two and a half weeks for post op treatments and appointments.  Even though this is very expensive, this is also life changing for Henry!  This is his wish and prayer and his parents would do anything to help give him this miracle!  

Stacy shared recently that Henry has the biggest heart and is always looking for ways to help other people, especially kids who are picked on or “look lonely”!  He always tells his mom, “Mommy, I don’t want anyone to feel like people are staring at them, so I always play with everyone!”  He wants nothing more in the world than to be born like his brothers and sister! 

While we can’t change how he was born, Dr. Lewin can give him the next best thing; a Big Ear and normal hearing with the help of this procedure. While Henry knows that it is ok to be different, he still keeps asking God to make him the “same” as everyone else. Consider helping Henry’s prayers come true.

If you feel led to give, Henry and his family will be forever grateful for any and all donations!  All of the money raised will go directly toward Henry's medical expenses!