This past year has been even more amazing than the 1st year! This second year has been very rewarding for a number of reasons:
Formation of Earicles – Miracles for Ears: This past year I started a long-time dream of mine, the formation of a non-profit organization, dedicated to help children born without ears thrive through Education, Research, Advocacy and Surgical Care.
Education: We held our 1st Annual Los Angeles Microtia Atresia Conference (LAMAC) at the beautiful Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, California. The event not only met but it exceeded my expectations, bringing together informative speakers and connecting Microtia Atresia families in a compassionate environment. In addition, I traveled to Quito to host an Ecuador Microtia Conference (ECMAC). Families traveled to Quito from all over Ecuador, Columbia and Peru. The warmth, generosity of spirit and gratitude of all those in attendance was a humbling and incredibly rewarding experience.
Surgical Care: My very first Earicles patient was Santiago, an adorable 8 year old Bilateral Microtia Atresia boy from Ecuador. With the help of Earicles, Santiago came to the U.S. twice to receive free surgical care for his ear reconstructions. Santiago also attended LAMAC and delivered a very heartfelt speech in front of hundreds of people! I performed 3 cost-free and 10 reduced-cost Earicles cases this past year.
More Surgical Advances: This past year I began implanting the Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) base unit during the 1st stage Medpor Ear Reconstruction surgery. This provides patients the ability to hear directly through bone conduction and is an alternative to Atresia repair.
Microtia Family: I am blessed to have extended my “Microtia Family” by leaps and bounds this past year, seeing the largest number of Microtia patients since I have been in practice and serving patients across five continents.
Staff Restructuring: Due to an increase in patient demands and needs, we hired additional staff and restructured the office. A big welcome to Sharyn (Patient Care Coordinator), Amy (Medical Assistant) and Tiffany (Microtia Patient Liaison)!
Tank: My family got a new Harlequin Great Dane puppy named Tank. At 5 months old he is nearly 100 pounds! Tank will start a training program soon to become a therapy dog, and we plan to take him to Children’s Hospitals to cheer up kids.
I feel very blessed for my wonderful family, incredible staff and amazing patients. Here’s to another great year!