“Ally is looking out for Microtia” art piece created by professional artist, Priscila Soares, (California)

In recognition of National Microtia Awareness Day, The Ear Community Organization and the Tumblin Family is honored to discover that Priscila Soares, (a professional artist in California) has created a beautiful art piece of a little girl with Microtia and Atresia, named “Ally is looking out for Microtia” to represent the Tumblin’s daughter, Ally, and to represent children with Microtia and Atresia.

Artist, Priscila Soares, creates pieces of art that tell the stories of real people behind hearing loss. Last year (2017), Priscila discovered National Microtia Awareness Day and made this beautiful little girl to honor National Microtia Awareness Day. However, Priscila didn’t have a real child behind this piece of art. “When I publicized my work, Melissa Tumblin, the founder of the Ear Community Organization got in touch with me asking to share the video and photos of this piece with her community. Coincidentally, her organization is the one that established National Microtia Awareness Day. Since 2010, they helped thousands of children and adults who were born with Microtia and Atresia, and their families. They also hosted nearly 60 events all over the world, donated nearly 100 new bone conduction hearing devices, and awarded nearly 10 college scholarships. Melissa’s daughter Ally, was born with Microtia and Atresia and is considered the poster child for their organization. This year (2018), I decided to transform this piece to be inspired about Ally’s story and her mom’s touching mission to look out for all the ones who have Microtia/Atresia.

I changed the doll’s device to look just like the Ponto Plus Ally wears and instead of having a lady bug device like before, I created a Microtia Elf butterfly (that’s its real name, the Microtia butterfly) and have it be landed on her device, and re-shaped the ear to look like Ally’s ear (Grade III Microtia). It’s been a wonderful and touching experience to connect with such wonderful people.

Ally, I truly hope your path will transform the lives of many with your beauty and power.”

Here is the video of Priscila making this beautiful art piece and transforming it to resemble Ally:  https://youtu.be/EYu-Bj6CD74?t=3
Here is the link about Priscila’s reasons for creating this little girl after Ally:
https://myluckyears.com/2018/09/ally-is-looking-out-for-microtia/?fbclid=IwAR2YTJeQ1WmMMZPhwfmy5PASADL1cRwD2DEjU65xBK5Q6G72jwqKb6EQAaw

Here is the link to Priscila’s website: https://myluckyears.com/

Myles Tankersley, Mobile, Alabama, received Oticon Medical Ponto Plus on September 19th, 2018 through Ear Community.

Meet Myles Tankersley from Moblie, Alabama.  Myles is four years old and was born with Microtia and Atresia of his right ear.  Recently, Myles’ mom, Britney Tankersley, began to question why her son wasn’t speaking as much and noticed that Myles had some delays in his speech.  Since birth, Myles has been to all of the right doctors for check-ups, but no one seemed to show any concern about his hearing loss or mention that unilateral hearing loss may cause some challenges for Myles down the road.  In fact, no one diagnosed her son as having Microtia and Atresia all these years.  Just during the past month (September), Britney and her husband recently discovered that Myles has Microtia and Atresia and that he is struggling to speak and hear because of his hearing loss.

Since learning more about Myles and doing some research, Britney and her husband found out about the Ear Community Organization through another Microtia family online who knew about Ear Community.  Originally, Britney was looking for a hearing device for Myles after struggling to request a hearing device through their audiologist and hitting road blocks with obtaining insurance approval.  To Britney’s surprise, she not only was able to obtain an Oticon Medical Ponto Plus hearing device for Myles through Ear Community, but she also discovered a gold mine of information for her son including information for school and about how additional hearing device technology (such as an FM system) can help him while at school along with services such as FREE speech therapy.  Britney shared that, “My husband & I didn’t sleep at all last night. You are such a wealth of knowledge & breath of fresh air. Your kindness is an answer to our prayers & we cannot say thank you enough. Dead end after dead end then in 1 conversation it finally starts to all make sense.  We are so excited that our baby boy will finally get a chance at “normal” hearing- thanks to you! We just wanted to say thank you again. ♥️”  Britney’s son, Myles, received his Oticon Medical Ponto Plus hearing device w/streamer through Ear Community on Wednesday, September 19th, 2018.  Since turning on his Ponto, Myles hasn’t stopped smiling and talking!  Britney says “I can tell already that he is hearing waaay better. We can’t thank you enough!”

Myles would not have been able to obtain his new Ponto Plus from Oticon Medical and Ear Community without Britney advocating for her son.  In addition, many people are often involved in helping make things happen.  Thank you to Beverly Ostrowski (Customer Service Manager) of Oticon Medical for helping find an audiologist to help program Myles’ new Ponto.  A special thank you to Dr. Paul Gaudiano (Oticon Medical audiologist) for finding the time to donate his time and services to program Myles’ new Ponto in between travel for work.  Together, everyone was able to help Myles hear better since birth.  A very special thank you to Alan Raffauf, Vice President of Marketing and Operations for Oticon Medical US, for choosing to donate the new Oticon Medical Ponto Plus hearing device w/streamer to Ear Community so that our organization could help Myles hear better.  Thank you for everyone’s support and for helping Ear Community continue with its mission of helping individuals with Microtia and Atresia. Oticon Medical believes in helping individuals with hearing loss so that they can live a better quality of life.  Oticon Medical believes in helping individuals with hearing loss so that they can live a better quality of life. Oticon Medical is a well respected international hearing device manufacturer that is a part of the “William Demant Group with 100-plus years of experience in audiology and sound processing and established manufacturing and logistics infrastructure.”

Thank you again to everyone who was involved in helping change Myles’ life!  We are excited for Myles to start talking more and hearing better.   We are also excited to hear how much your speech improves now that you have some help through speech therapy!
– Congratulations from all of us at Ear Community
www.EarCommunity.org

Rachel Ciarkowski of St. Louis, Missouri, 9th college scholarship recipient through Ear Community (fall 2018)

Ear Community is pleased to introduce Rachel Ciarkowski. Rachel is a first-year student in Physical Therapy at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Rachel was born with Microtia and Atresia of her left ear. She has not had reconstructive surgery and is unaided.  Rachel enjoys challenging herself and believes in living the dream. When she was only fifteen years old she suffered a debilitating sports injury while playing soccer. While most teenagers are looking forward to driving a car for the first time, Rachel focused all of her energies on healing her body.  This grit and determination has defined her life and willingness to overcome obstacles to reach her goals. Rachel applied to Ear Community and was named one of Ear Community’s college scholarship recipients and was awarded a scholarship that could help her complete her doctorate degree.

Rachel plans to graduate with her doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2021 and focus on pediatrics.  She has spent countless hours working with children and over the past four years she has worked as a camp counselor and team leader at a sports camp for children.  She also has spent much of her time volunteering with children with disabilities through fun and engaging sports activities. “Ear Community recognizes the importance of achieving a higher education and believes in supporting teens and young adults who wish to carry out their dreams by earning their college degree.” states Melissa Tumblin, Founder and Executive Director of Ear Community. Whenever funds are available, Ear Community is always proud to help individuals who have Microtia and Atresia with their education.” says Melissa Tumblin.

Rachel has worked tirelessly in college to get to the point she has.  She has worked through the frustrations of missing material in noisy lecture halls at school but has never let her being hard of hearing hold her back from achieving her goals.  Ear Community is proud to have been able to help Rachel by awarding her a college scholarship for $750.00 (USD). Rachel was awarded her Ear Community scholarship just in time for her first semester of her Physical Therapy program this fall. All of us at Ear Community wish you the best of luck with your education and your dream Rachel.

We are so proud of you Rachel!
Thank you,
Ear Community Board Members and
Ear Community Founder, Melissa Tumblin
www.EarCommunity.org

Pictured from left to right: Melissa Tumblin (Ear Community), Dr. Sandra Gabbard (President and CEO of the Marion Downs Center), and Kathy Rawls (4th year audiology student).

On September 11th, 2018, Ear Community Founder, Melissa Tumblin, traveled to the Marion Downs Center in Denver to visit with Dr. Sandra Gabbard (audiologist and President/CEO of the Marion Downs Center) to donate (4) gently used hearing devices to help needy children and adults hear better. (2 bone conduction hearing devices, 1 cochlear implant, and 1 traditional hearing device). Our organization looks forward to publishing the stories of when these hearing devices find their new homes!

The Marion Downs Center helps provide services to the needy and to the general public who have hearing loss.  The two organizations, together, are excited to collaborate and help more children and adults hear better with the help of providing services and donated hearing devices to those in need.

BIG NEWS for our Ear Community Organization and the Microtia and Atresia community – Genetic research….here we come!

On August 30th, 2018, the Ear Community Organization received amazing news from Dr. Jon Seidman of Harvard University and of Seidman Labs (at Harvard), that the grant application that was submitted to conduct genetic research on Microtia and Atresia in Hispanic populations was accepted through the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program.  Investigator, Dr. Jon Seidman (Harvard University), along with Co-Investigators Dr. Roland Eavey (Vanderbilt University) and Melissa Tumblin of the Ear Community Organization, had applied for a couple of grants regarding conducting research in hopes of helping further discover why Microtia and Atresia may happen.  Finally, a grant has been approved to help with further research.

Drs. Jon Seidman and Roland Eavey have been conducting research on Microtia and Atresia over the past three decades.  We are hopeful that this grant through the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program will help provide the opportunity to take a closer look at any genes that may be in common to causing Microtia and Atresia.  Below is the message we received from GMKF:
_________________________________________________  
“Congratulations! Your X01 application for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First) titled, “The Genetics of Microtia in Hispanic Populations” has been selected to go forward, as part of the 2018 sequencing pipeline. The program will support the sequencing of approximately 400 samples from your cohort.

James Welsh of Illinois, Ear Community college scholarship recipient, September 2018.

Meet James Welsh of Roselle, Illinois, a freshman entering his first year of college at Bradley University in Peoria, IL.  James has proven that he comes from a long line of hard-working people. James was born with Microtia and Atresia of his right ear, and even though he has struggled, his hearing loss and Microtia have never gotten in the way of his goals in life.  While James has never had reconstructive surgery and does not wear a hearing device, he has always been involved in top roles in school, has always been a hard worker, and is a confident individual. While attending Lake Park High School, James was very involved with his school’s basketball team, National Honor Society, and DECA.  In order for James to qualify for the National Honor Society, he needed to have a 4.75 GPA or higher, but he surpassed that and maintained a 5.0 GPA!

James has a lot on his plate as he volunteers at Summer camps for children with disabilities, working for Jimmy Johns, and being so active with his basketball team.  He has always loved math and is able to analyze and balance all the various tasks that require his focus. As James enters college, he plans on earning a degree in Accounting and a minor in either economics or journalism.  James says that, “the whole point of college for me is that I get a good education that I can use to make an impact on the world that I live in.”

James applied to Ear Community for our college scholarship before the end of his Senior year of High School.   “Whenever funds are available, Ear Community is always proud to help individuals who have Microtia and Atresia with their education.” says Melissa Tumblin.  “There is no doubt in my mind that James will excel at his education and in anything he puts his mind to in life”. In his application letter, James shared that he is “just ready to work hard and hurdle every obstacle that is thrown at me”.

Ear Community is proud to have been able to help James further his education by awarding him a college scholarship in the amount of $750.00 (USD).  James was awarded the Ear Community scholarship just in time for his first semester of college this fall. All of us at Ear Community wish James the best of luck with your education and with your dreams.

Thank you,
Ear Community Board Members
www.EarCommunity.org

D/HH figure skating program that Miss Ashley Mikelsen was able to obtain the Prudential “Building Bridges” grant for.

This January, the Columbine Figure Skating Club in Colorado was awarded the Prudential “Building Bridges” grant that enabled CFSC to introduce the sport of figure skating to the deaf and hard of hearing community.  Ashley Mikelsen, one of Columbine Figure Skating Club’s coaches, who is deaf, wanted to introduce D/HH children to the sport of figure skating who have hearing loss like her.  When Ashley and CFSC heard they were awarded the “Building Bridges” grant for $15,000.00, they reached out to the Ear Community Organization where the two organizations collaborated together to help bring together over 20 children, ranging from age 5 to 17, providing them with 2.5 months of donated figure skating lessons.  These future figure skaters were given the opportunity to learn basic skills on up to intermediate level skating skills at the Apex Recreation Center ice arena in Arvada, CO.  ASL interpreters were also provided while on the ice for these skaters from the Rocky Mountain School for the Deaf and Adams 12 School District.  Thank you to Maribeth Lavender, Laura Odom, and Kyla Paterson for providing ASL for these children.  Lessons were provided during the months of February through May with students participating in the spring ice skating show that took place on May 5th, 2018.  This year’s spring figure skating show was called

Coach Ashley Mikelsen with student, Ally Tumblin

“Skating Around the World” which focused on skating performances featuring themes from Africa, Ireland, the North Pole, Austria, Egypt, Japan, Brazil, and the United States.  The show featured skaters from all over local Colorado skating clubs to junior figure skating champions including Kaitlyn Kenyon Hoppal and Alex Wellman.  These children were very lucky to receive their coaching from some of the very best figure skaters at Columbine Figure Skating Club.  A special thank you to the coaches who helped these children during this program:  Britney Simpson, Liz Scott, Patti Snyder, Bernie Creevey, Lena Nguyen, Maia Brown, and Kaitlyn Hamlin.  It was quite the privilege for the kids to learn their choreography and dance routines for the ice skating show from renown coaches whom many are USFS freestyle competing champions and national champions, who have worked for Disney on Ice and skated in the Holiday Ice Follies, and who are past USFS and ISU double gold medalists.

Jennifer Betz of the Columbine Figure Skating Club reached out to Melissa Tumblin of Ear Community for help regarding sharing this wonderful opportunity with the D/HH community.  Melissa was able to reach out through her organization’s social media and support groups and also her daughter’s school district to reach out to families about the program.  A very special thank you to Kim Nelson for volunteering to help each week at lessons and for coordinating, obtaining, and assigning each child’s costume and sizes and for helping out with props for the ice show.  Thank you to everyone involved who came together to make this a fun program for these children and to make it successful!  The Ear Community Organization was proud to be a part of this community program for the D/HH.

Children who participated in the D/HH program enjoyed being given FREE Apex Recreation Center punch cards to further their figure skating skills even more.  Each lesson included snacks and recognition certificates, skating medals, and trophies.  After participating in the ice skating show, these lucky children were also allowed to keep their costumes that they skated in!  The program was amazing and priceless for helping bring the D/HH community together while introducing these children to figure skating.  A special thank you to Jennifer Betz of Columbine Figure Skating Club and to Melissa Tumblin of Ear Community for working together to bring this opportunity to life for these amazing kids!  Thank you to Allison Barwick of Adams 12 School District for helping us spread the word through both Broomfield and Arvada schools and for helping us translate our brochure for Spanish speaking families.   Thank you to Peggy Heath and Julia Faliano of Moutnain View Elementary School for helping spread the word to school families.  A special thank you to Prudential, Columbine Figure Skating Club, Apex Recreational Center, Rocky Mountain Deaf School, US Figure Skating, and the Ear Community Organization for helping make everything possible for this wonderful D/HH program for the community to be a part of.

Here are some fun memories from this amazing program!

The Ear Community Organization
www.EarCommunity.org