Prosthetic Ears

September 26, 2007

From a world of silence to a new outlook on life. That’s the journey of a Florida boy who recently became one of the youngest ever to receive a set of artificial ears. 5-year-old Jorden Flowers of Jacksonville was born without ears or auditory nerves. Medical artists at the University of Florida College of Dentistry fashioned artificial ears for him. His mother Vonetta says this, combined with auditory implant surgery done in Italy, has given Jorden a new life.

Flowers: “When we saw it, we were so excited for Jorden because he hasn’t had ears. He’s 5 years old and we said that it’s his present for his fifth birthday. He’s always been fascinated with ears and now he can look in the mirror and see that he looks just like his brother, so we’re so blessed and so happy for Jorden”

Jorden’s mother has her own claim to fame as the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal in bobsledding. Doctors made Jorden’s ears from molds of the ears of his twin brother, Jaden, who has normal ears and hearing.

Flowers: “As a child you want to look like other kids and to live a normal life, as normal as possible anyway, and we feel like Jorden is going to live a normal life and be very successful when he grows up”

Like mom, Jorden is setting records too.

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