Meet Anaiah, a sweet little girl born with bilateral microtia and atresia. Anaiah was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States with her family in hopes of finding better care. Anaiah’s mom, Marylis, felt guilty when Anaiah was born, thinking that she had done something during her pregnancy to cause Anaiah to have both ears missing and hearing loss. With the healthcare system being limited in Puerto Rico, Marylis began researching where she would move and how she could help Anaiah live a better quality of life.
Marylis and Anaiah and their family moved to Tennessee where they found Vanderbilt University Medical Center. To Marylis’ surprise, she discovered that Vanderbilt had a specialty clinic for Microtia and Atresia treatment. After meeting with Dr. Stephan and Dr. Rivas, they made her feel better and she knew that Anaiah was in the right hands. Marylis and Anaiah decided on having Medpor outer ear reconstructive surgery and also decided to aid Anaiah’s hearing loss with two implanted bone conduction hearing devices. The first surgery for Anaiah’s ear reconstruction was almost 12 hours long, but the staff called her every hour to let her know of her status.
Marylis remembers when Anaiah woke up with her first ear, she said, “she woke up so happy with her new ear!” After Marylis saw herself with two ears, following her second surgery, Marylis said, “she was so happy and thankful. Her face changed, she was more confident! The third surgery was when she had her two Ponto hearing device implants and some reconstructive corrections.”
“Now Anaiah’s ears and hearing are perfect. We are done for now, just follow-up appointments and she really misses her doctors at Vanderbilt.” – Marylis Pereira
Marylis and Anaiah continue to be a part of the Microtia and Atresia clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, helping other families as advocates. Marylis and Anaiah also enjoy sitting on the parent panel during the Microtia and Atresia conference that is held each summer on Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s campus at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.
Here are some amazing memories from Ahaiah’s journey for two ears and hearing: