Ear4Evie
Donation protected
Our beautiful daughter Evelyn was born with an underdeveloped right ear. The specialist reconstructive surgery we want Evelyn to have is in the USA and very expensive. We have been saving furiously but would be grateful for any assistance you could provide.
Evelyn was born on the 9th of December 2014. Our excitement was short-lived as upon examination we were told she was missing an ear. This was quite a shock for us as nothing had been picked up on our scans during pregnancy. The medical team could not really give us any answers until a couple of days later when we were visited by a Pediatrician Geneticist who could give us more information and told us that Evelyn had Microtia and Atresia , which in basic terms means she was born with an underdeveloped right ear.
Evelyn failed her hearing test in the hospital and was referred to the childhood hearing clinic through Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. What confronted us after arriving home from hospital was countless appointments (ENT, Australian Hearing, Paediatrician, Geneticist, Qld Hearing Loss Family Support, Speech Therapy) and sleepless nights worrying about our daughter. We have dedicated a lot of our time to researching, seeing varying specialists, joining communities and organisations and attending the annual Microtia and Atresia Conference to find the most equipped people to assist and support us in Evelyn’s journey. Evelyn was fitted with a bone conduction hearing aid at 3 months old, which she wears on a soft band. She was also enrolled in Hear & Say’s early intervention program. Hear & Say have allowed us to connect with so many families who are also on this journey and have been a constant support for us.
Although Evelyn is a happy and healthy little girl in all other aspects of her life, our aim is to provide Evelyn with a right ear. We want to prevent any social and psychological difficulties that children with Microtia can experience. To do this we will take Evelyn to America where they specialise in techniques that are only beginning to be used now in Australia. Utilising a customisable porous polyethylene implant to form the ear, the Medpor technique is the best option for a successful surgery. The Medpor framework is covered with a very thin living tissue flap taken from beneath the scalp that completely wraps around the implant, allowing the living tissue to integrate into the porous material. Skin is then grafted on top of the flap. Evelyn will also be undertaking the new 3D imaging done of her non microtia ear so her new ear can be printed and then implanted.
Evelyn will have her surgery on 26th September 2019 with Dr Lewin who is based in California. She is a craniofacial plastic surgeon who specialises in Microtia ear surgery. Evelyn’s surgery will cost us $54,500 USD (approx. $82,000 AUD) plus flights, accommodation, car hire and living expenses in excess of $20,000AUD to get to the USA and stay there for 5 weeks to ensure we can monitor her recovery. We have been saving since Evelyn was born but we have not been able to save this amount in such a short period of time.
Any donation big or small will make a huge difference to Evelyn’s future.
We really appreciate everyone’s love and support.
Thank you!
Evelyn was born on the 9th of December 2014. Our excitement was short-lived as upon examination we were told she was missing an ear. This was quite a shock for us as nothing had been picked up on our scans during pregnancy. The medical team could not really give us any answers until a couple of days later when we were visited by a Pediatrician Geneticist who could give us more information and told us that Evelyn had Microtia and Atresia , which in basic terms means she was born with an underdeveloped right ear.
Evelyn failed her hearing test in the hospital and was referred to the childhood hearing clinic through Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital. What confronted us after arriving home from hospital was countless appointments (ENT, Australian Hearing, Paediatrician, Geneticist, Qld Hearing Loss Family Support, Speech Therapy) and sleepless nights worrying about our daughter. We have dedicated a lot of our time to researching, seeing varying specialists, joining communities and organisations and attending the annual Microtia and Atresia Conference to find the most equipped people to assist and support us in Evelyn’s journey. Evelyn was fitted with a bone conduction hearing aid at 3 months old, which she wears on a soft band. She was also enrolled in Hear & Say’s early intervention program. Hear & Say have allowed us to connect with so many families who are also on this journey and have been a constant support for us.
Although Evelyn is a happy and healthy little girl in all other aspects of her life, our aim is to provide Evelyn with a right ear. We want to prevent any social and psychological difficulties that children with Microtia can experience. To do this we will take Evelyn to America where they specialise in techniques that are only beginning to be used now in Australia. Utilising a customisable porous polyethylene implant to form the ear, the Medpor technique is the best option for a successful surgery. The Medpor framework is covered with a very thin living tissue flap taken from beneath the scalp that completely wraps around the implant, allowing the living tissue to integrate into the porous material. Skin is then grafted on top of the flap. Evelyn will also be undertaking the new 3D imaging done of her non microtia ear so her new ear can be printed and then implanted.
Evelyn will have her surgery on 26th September 2019 with Dr Lewin who is based in California. She is a craniofacial plastic surgeon who specialises in Microtia ear surgery. Evelyn’s surgery will cost us $54,500 USD (approx. $82,000 AUD) plus flights, accommodation, car hire and living expenses in excess of $20,000AUD to get to the USA and stay there for 5 weeks to ensure we can monitor her recovery. We have been saving since Evelyn was born but we have not been able to save this amount in such a short period of time.
Any donation big or small will make a huge difference to Evelyn’s future.
We really appreciate everyone’s love and support.
Thank you!
Organizer
Renee Grant
Organizer
Riverhills QLD
