What may seem trivial for most teens is a really big deal for 14-year-old Nadia Ilse.
Six weeks post-surgery, Nadia likes what she sees.
From Dumbo to elephant ears Nadia says the teasing was non-stop. She even skipped school because of it.
"It felt horrible it felt... it's like I'd tell them every day I wish I could get something done about it but I can't because we don't have the money for it."
When she was 10 years old Nadia asked her mother if she could have the surgery to pin her ears back.
A local surgeon quoted her $8,000, which they couldn't afford. But then Lynda Ilse, Nadia's mother, found Little Baby Face Foundation, a volunteer group of surgeons who operate on children with facial deformities.
In June, Nadia and her mother flew to New York for an all-expense paid trip where the doctor performed all three surgeries which would've cost $40,000.
Some might ask, how could a parent let their 14-year-old child do this?
Lynda is a single mother who also cares for her 9-year-old son Joshua who has Cerebral Palsy.
She says ultimately the decision was Nadia's.
"I thought Nadia was beautiful before the surgery and I think she's beautiful now as well but she loves herself more after the surgery."
For the first time ever Nadia is looking forward to the school year. She'll be a freshman and hopes she'll never be called Dumbo or elephant ears again.
Source:clickondetroit
