Life changing surgery to hear, listen and speak
Donation protected
Help Ava to hear, listen and speak with life changing surgery in the US.
Ava was born on the 19th September 2014. The thrill and excitement of welcoming a daughter to our family was short-lived as our doctor informed us that our daughter had a significant issue with both of her ears and ear canals. This was later diagnosed as bilateral Microtia and atresia. Microtia and atresia is a congenital birth condition which is the underdevelopment of the outer ear and the absence of an ear canal and in most cases results in hearing loss.
Ava failed her hearing test in the hospital and was referred to the childhood hearing clinic in Nambour where she was diagnosed with a moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears. Ava was assessed and fitted with a bone conduction hearing aid at 8 weeks old, which she wears on a soft band. She was also enrolled in Hear & Say’s early intervention program and currently attends fortnightly speech pathology.
We have devoted an enormous amount of time seeing specialists and countless internet hours researching to ensure the best outcome for Ava for a rich and rewarding life .
Ava is a gift to our family and her 2 big brothers. She is an energetic and happy little girl attending kindy. However over the last year Ava’s teachers and carers have noticed that Ava has difficulty learning in a classroom environment with lively 5 year olds making a huge amount of background noise that will only increase as Ava enters main stream schooling. Ava has other medical issues but on the whole she is a delightful, healthy little girl.
After hours of weighing up the positives and negatives of the options available to correct Ava’s hearing, we want to provide Ava with the best opportunity for normal hearing through the right and left ears and improved hearing through the reconstruction of the middle ear and ear canal.
The specialist combined reconstructive surgery required to provide Ava with her ears and to correct the ear canal is in the US and very expensive. This technique is not available in Australia due to the specialised skills and experience required.
We travelled to the US in January 2019 for Ava’s first surgery with Dr Roberson and Dr Tahiri who are based in Palo Alto California. The surgery included the construction of the right ear canal and the outer ear reconstruction.
Ava’s first surgery has been a success and Ava frequently asks for another big ear. We are raising funds to enable Ava to travel to the US in 2020 to complete this procedure on the left-hand side.
Ava’s surgery per ear costs are $80,000 USD (approx. $110,000 AUD) plus flights, accommodation, car hire and living expenses in excess of $20,000 AUD to get to the USA and stay there for 5 weeks to ensure doctors can monitor her recovery before the flight home. The estimated cost for both ears is $ 260,000 AUD.
We have been saving since Ava was born but with the ongoing costs associated with Ava’s condition (private health insurance, hearing aids, physiotherapy, early intervention etc.) this expected cost will prove beyond our means. Still we continue to save furiously but this will not cover all the expected expenses.
Any donation big or small will make a huge difference to Ava’s future.
We really appreciate everyone’s love and support.
Thank you.
Ava was born on the 19th September 2014. The thrill and excitement of welcoming a daughter to our family was short-lived as our doctor informed us that our daughter had a significant issue with both of her ears and ear canals. This was later diagnosed as bilateral Microtia and atresia. Microtia and atresia is a congenital birth condition which is the underdevelopment of the outer ear and the absence of an ear canal and in most cases results in hearing loss.
Ava failed her hearing test in the hospital and was referred to the childhood hearing clinic in Nambour where she was diagnosed with a moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears. Ava was assessed and fitted with a bone conduction hearing aid at 8 weeks old, which she wears on a soft band. She was also enrolled in Hear & Say’s early intervention program and currently attends fortnightly speech pathology.
We have devoted an enormous amount of time seeing specialists and countless internet hours researching to ensure the best outcome for Ava for a rich and rewarding life .
Ava is a gift to our family and her 2 big brothers. She is an energetic and happy little girl attending kindy. However over the last year Ava’s teachers and carers have noticed that Ava has difficulty learning in a classroom environment with lively 5 year olds making a huge amount of background noise that will only increase as Ava enters main stream schooling. Ava has other medical issues but on the whole she is a delightful, healthy little girl.
After hours of weighing up the positives and negatives of the options available to correct Ava’s hearing, we want to provide Ava with the best opportunity for normal hearing through the right and left ears and improved hearing through the reconstruction of the middle ear and ear canal.
The specialist combined reconstructive surgery required to provide Ava with her ears and to correct the ear canal is in the US and very expensive. This technique is not available in Australia due to the specialised skills and experience required.
We travelled to the US in January 2019 for Ava’s first surgery with Dr Roberson and Dr Tahiri who are based in Palo Alto California. The surgery included the construction of the right ear canal and the outer ear reconstruction.
Ava’s first surgery has been a success and Ava frequently asks for another big ear. We are raising funds to enable Ava to travel to the US in 2020 to complete this procedure on the left-hand side.
Ava’s surgery per ear costs are $80,000 USD (approx. $110,000 AUD) plus flights, accommodation, car hire and living expenses in excess of $20,000 AUD to get to the USA and stay there for 5 weeks to ensure doctors can monitor her recovery before the flight home. The estimated cost for both ears is $ 260,000 AUD.
We have been saving since Ava was born but with the ongoing costs associated with Ava’s condition (private health insurance, hearing aids, physiotherapy, early intervention etc.) this expected cost will prove beyond our means. Still we continue to save furiously but this will not cover all the expected expenses.
Any donation big or small will make a huge difference to Ava’s future.
We really appreciate everyone’s love and support.
Thank you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ava Luscombe
Organizer
Maroochydore QLD
Daniel Luscombe
Beneficiary
