Non-Profit Organization Helps Bullied Girl Afford Plastic Surgery

The non-profit the Little Baby Face Foundation is coming to the rescue of children at the mercy of schoolyard bullies—but not in a way you'd expect. Little Baby Face pays for children and teens, who have been bullied because of their appearance, to receive plastic surgery. Nadia Ilse, a 14-year-old girl from Georgia, is one of the teens who has had all of her plastic surgery costs covered by Little Baby Face, CNN reports.

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Nadia had been teased throughout her childhood about the size of her ears. The bullying began in the first grade when another child told her, “You have the biggest ears I’ve ever seen.” She says that before that moment, she had never thought about the size of her ears. “Dumbo” and “elephant ears” are just a few of the names she has been called by bullies throughout her childhood. When Nadia was asked about her worst experience being bullied, she responded, “It happens so many times that it all sort of blends together.”

Plus: Teacher Orders Kindergarteners to Hit Bully

At the age of 10, Nadia asked her mother for plastic surgery to pin her ears down. Her mother searched the internet, looking for a way to help her daughter, and found the Little Baby Face Foundation. Little Baby Face brought Nadia and her mother to New York to receive the surgery free of cost, though the operation she received is valued at $40,000.

When Nadia applied to the Little Baby Face Foundation, she asked for her ears to be pinned back. But Dr. Thomas Romo insisted that she would also need to change her chin and nose, to make her face balance her features. Prior to her consultation with Dr. Romo, Nadia had no problem with her nose and chin—but Dr. Romo says that’s “because she didn’t recognize it.”

Plus: In Defense of the Bus Monitor Bullies

Nadia underwent a 4-hour operation to change her face. Her mother understands that the operation alone will not help Nadia’s emotional damage from the bullying, so she will also put her in counseling.

When Nadia, saw herself without bandages for the first time since the operation, she said, “I look beautiful. This is exactly what I wanted.”

Do you think plastic surgery is a positive answer to bullying? Leave a comment.