Dr. Mobley’s efforts to help low-income kids overcome bullying was recently featured as a top Inside Edition story.
In 2016, the world learned the heartwarming story of how a young’s boy’s ear pinning surgery changed his life, delivering him from a lifetime of bullying and restoring his lost sense of self-confidence when it was featured on the television newsmagazine, Inside Edition.
Dr. Mobley, working through his Mobley Foundation for Charitable Surgery, donated this life-affirming surgery to a highly deserving young man named Gage, the son of a local police officer. The first-grader had suffered for years as the target of merciless bullying, coming to perceive his own self-worth based on the appearance of his ears.
Recently, Inside Edition marked their 30-year anniversary by looking back at their most memorable moments and, deservedly, Gage’s emotionally stirring story made the list. To commemorate this recognition, we would like to share the story of this young child’s journey for those who may have missed it in its original airing.
We hope you are as moved and inspired by Gage’s story as we are, and that it motivates you to assist us in our battle to overcome the emotionally devastating effects that bullying has on our children.
The Need for Ear Pinning Surgery
Children with large, protruding ears are often mercilessly bullied, and the local Utah first-grader featured on Inside Edition was certainly no exception.
Schoolyard bullies teased the young boy, saying he looked like an elf and laughing about his prominent ears. The bullying not only made him dread going to school, but also started to erode his self-confidence.
Feeling down on himself, the boy would constantly try to push back his ears. His parents were worried that his self-esteem would be permanently damaged, so they sought help from Dr. Mobley and the Mobley Foundation for Charitable Surgery.
Unfortunately, Gage’s story is far from unique, and the toll that bullying takes on children is significant – sometimes permanent.
Research from Yale University shows that young bullying victims are as much as nine times more likely to consider suicide than their peers. We have experienced this desperation personally, when Dr. Mobley has spoken to parents begging for help because their child preferred ending his life to facing the endless ridicule of his tormentors.
The Results of Ear Pinning Surgery
Little Gage was ecstatic with the outcome of his ear surgery. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when the bandages came off and he looked in the mirror for the first time. In that moment, he saw himself – rather than his ears – for the first time in his young life.
The free ear pinning surgery made possible by the generous donations to the Mobley Foundation allows us to change the lives of deserving children.
With new ears and a balanced, more normal appearance, children rediscover the self-worth and confidence that bullying took from them. Watching these sweet young children discover blossom and grow with their renewed sense of self-confidence motivates all we do through the Mobley Foundation.
We only wish we had the capacity to help every deserving child who comes to us with a cry for help.
About the Mobley Foundation
For most children, ear pinning is considered to be elective cosmetic surgery, rather than a medically necessary procedure. Consequently, insurance doesn’t cover the procedure – and that puts otoplasty out of reach for many deserving kids and their families.
The Mobley Foundation for Charitable Surgery aims to change this, funding ear surgeries for low-income children who are bullied about their ears.
Dr. Mobley has first-hand knowledge of the dramatic improvement in quality of life that ear pinning provides. He went through the experience himself as a child, living with large ears – and the heartless bullying that came with this appearance – all the way through high school. The life-changing difference he experienced when he finally underwent the otoplasty procedure as a college freshman led to his lifetime commitment to helping as many children as possible avoid this unthinkable fate.
Through the Mobley Foundation, Dr. Mobley’s strives to give more children the chance to have ear surgery and live happy, confident lives.
To achieve this goal, a portion of every surgical procedure performed at Mobley MD is used – along with generous donations from our patients and the community – to fund surgical procedures for children of low-income families.
Contact us today for more information on the Mobley Foundation for Charitable Surgery, or to make a donation to this noble cause. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss ear pinning surgery for your child, contact our Salt Lake City office today.