Let it begin!

Dear Family and Friends,

I am writing this letter on behalf of our son, Bennett, to ask for your help, prayers and donations. First off, I should explain why we need your help.  As you know, Bennett was born with two conditions, microtia and hemifacial microsomia.  Microtia refers to his underdeveloped ear.  Hemifacial microsomia refers to his underdeveloped jaw.  Many times, along with these two conditions, there are other very serious complications including heart defects and kidney complications, but he was very blessed to have none of these.

It is not yet known if he has an inner ear on his affected side. We are in the process of getting CT and/or MRI scans to determine that.  For now, though, he will most likely need a Baha hearing aid.  Our insurance covers 80/20 for hearing aids, which is wonderful, but that 20% left for us may still mean thousands of dollars.  If in the future it is determined he will need this hearing aid permanently, they will need to surgically implant the hearing aid.  This surgery can run up to and even go beyond $30,000, and it may or may not be covered by
insurance.  That will be determined later if it is needed.

Right now, his specialists are located at Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul.  In a year or two, Bennett will go through a series of surgeries to reconstruct his ear.  He may also need multiple surgeries to reconstruct his jaw, although at his last check-up his specialist said this may not be needed.  The ear reconstruction is a very painful and long process, taking months and possibly years to finish.  There are several different types of reconstruction, and the type will be determined closer to the surgeries.

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to get back into contact with a friend in Louisiana, whose nephew has the same conditions that Bennett has.  She urged me to search for a conference, any conference, to gather information about the surgeries, look at all the options, and basically get a second opinion.  These conferences are few and far between!  The closest one I could find is in Anaheim, California (compared to Seoul, South Korea, California is CLOSE!).  It is in August, and it is specifically for families who are dealing with these conditions.  Only 10-15 families are allowed to attend, so they are able to maintain a more
one-on-one feel during the conference.  Both Nathan and I feel it is important for us to go...we just need help getting there!

All of the travel we will need to do for his surgeries, the travel we feel we should do for the conference, the expenses for the hearing aid and surgeries, and the unforeseen expenses that will pop up...all need money to make them a reality for Bennett.  We are doing a lot of fundraising on our own, but we need your help. If you feel you would like to donate to help curb the costs of Bennett’s future “adventures,” we would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you in advance for your help, thoughts and prayers!


Very sincerely yours,

Teresa, Nathan, Bennett and Ella Linval