Help Hayden on His Journey to TWO EARS!

These AWESOME microtia awareness shirts are a funding effort for the surgical reconstruction of Hayden's "peanut ear." Hayden Heard was born with Microtia and Atresia, a congenital malformation or total absence of the outer ear and ear canal. This condition is extremely rare and occurs between 6, 000 to 12,000 live births. It usually effects males and the right ear. Due to Hayden’s Microtia and Atresia he suffers from a significant unilateral (moderately- severe) conductive loss. Hayden adapts pretty well but does exhibit some difficulty in noise and localizing or determining what directions sounds are coming from and also exhibits some attention issues. 
Fundraising is something that most families with children born with Microtia and Atresia perform to help raise the funds for ear reconstruction surgery, which can be quite expensive. We have always loved Hayden’s “peanut ear,” but do realize in the future this can subject him to numerous issues that develop. Children born with Microtia and Atresia can have a great deal of emotional and psychological problems like low self-esteem and a distorted self-image.
  There are two main types of reconstructive surgery with few surgeons performing these procedures throughout the United States. We have decided on Dr. Lewin to perform his Medpor reconstruction.
 During medpor reconstruction, a porous synthetic ear structure is then covered by the child’s own skin which is grafted from typically the back of their head.  This reconstruction is done in two different stages, typically 6 to 9 months apart. The first stage can take approximately 10 hours and is the most important part of the two. After surgery, Hayden will be required to remain in California for two weeks for follow-ups and to make sure his body essentially accepts the synthetic framework as his own ear.  
Hayden’s surgery has been scheduled for June 11, 2014. We fly to California on June 9, 2014 and his pre-op is June 10th, 2014. Reconstructive ear surgery can become extremely expensive and in some cases, falls under the cosmetic category, which is not covered. In Hayden’s case, we have been told that insurance may pay for a portion of the surgery if it is deemed “medically necessary.” However, since we are not doing canalplasty, I have recently been told that is going to be extremely difficult and insurance may deny the whole procedure.
We are trying to raise around $20,000 to cover Hayden’s medical costs. These include surgeon fees, facility fees, room and board for two weeks, and transportation costs for his ear reconstruction.