As a toddler, Nicholas Soma noticed his ears were different.

While looking in the mirror, Nicholas told his father, “;I want ears just like you.”;

At birth the boy was diagnosed with bilateral atresia and microtia - that is, with malformed ears and no ear canals, which impaired his hearing.

Thanks to doctors at the California Ear Institute, Nicholas now has new fully shaped ears and can hear without assistance.

Celebrating Thanksgiving today, Nicholas, who turns 5 next month, and his family members say they are thankful for the surgeons who corrected Nicholas' ear condition as well as the support and donations that made the surgery possible.

“;We're just thankful for him to be able to hear,”; said Nicholas' grandmother Erma Soma. “;That's a real blessing.”;

“;It looks like everybody,”; said Nicholas of his ears as the energetic and talkative child played with his little sister, Taylor, in his grandparents' Pearl City home yesterday.

Nicholas' diagnosis was the beginning of an arduous journey for Lance and Nancy Soma. The Ewa Beach couple learned that their medical insurance would not cover any costs for surgical reconstruction or a hearing aid for their first child.

The couple spent countless hours doing extensive research to find a solution. Meanwhile, Nicholas was fitted for a bone conduction hearing aid, a headband device that boosted his hearing level to 60 percent from 20 percent.

He also learned sign language and how to speak. But the hearing aid often needed repairs.

“;It wasn't dependable,”; said his father.

Through their research, they learned of a procedure that could be performed when he reached age 8, when doctors would remove cartilage from his rib cage to construct a new set of ears. But the Somas opted for a procedure called medpor reconstruction, which involves use of porous polyethylene material.

The advantage is that the surgery can be done at age 3.

“;We needed to do the surgery sooner rather than later because he was already missing some sounds even with the hearing aid,”; Lance Soma said. “;He would've had huge speech delays if we did not get it fixed.”;

Dr. Joseph Roberson, president of the California Ear Institute, and Dr. Sheryl Lewin performed two reconstructive surgeries at the Waverly Surgery Center in Palo Alto, Calif., on Nicholas in March and June.

“;Those are the main people, one of the main people we are thankful to have met,”; said Lance. “;They are the pioneers of this type of surgery.”;

Each operation lasted about eight hours during which doctors drilled holes in Nicholas' skull to create ear canals and eardrums. Thereafter, skin grafts were taken from his scalp to help, along with the porous material, form his outer ears.

“;We knew he was in the best hands,”; said Lance Soma. The doctors treated him as if he was their own child, he said.

Through recovery, Nicholas was a trouper, his father said. He could not wait to show everyone his ears when they returned from California.

Numerous fundraisers from garage sales to chili tickets were held to help offset the cost of the surgeries, estimated at $150,000.

“;Hawaii really has the most generous, caring people anywhere,”; Lance Soma said.

Nicholas, a kindergartner at Pearl City Highlands Elementary School, is due to return to California in June for more cosmetic ear surgery.

The Somas' family experience prompted them to establish the Wish to Hear Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping Hawaii children and adults who are hearing-impaired with resources, scholarships, counseling and grants.

Nowadays, Nicholas no longer needs to wear his hearing aid, as his hearing level improved to 70 percent from 20 percent.

One can hardly tell that he had a hearing problem, and his speech is clear.

“;I don't need the headband anymore,”; he said.

'Hawaii stars concert' airs tonight

Nicholas Soma and a several others from his hula halau, Holoholo Kaa, will be featured in a 9 p.m. show tonight on KHON called the “;Hawaii Stars Concert of Extraordinary Abilities.”;

The live event was recently held at the Hawaii Theatre by the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation & Variety School. Nicholas was one of five finalists who each won $1,000 and $10,000 to go toward a charitable organization.

The money went toward the Wish to Hear Foundation, a nonprofit organization Nicholas' parents recently established aimed to help Hawaii children and adults with hearing problems.

For more information on the Wish to Hear Foundation, call Lance Soma at 384-4184 or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

MESSAGES OF THANKS

“;I am thankful for a 16-year-old girl I've never met and probably never will. This young girl gave me up for adoption 51 years ago this month. She wanted a life for me that she knew she could not provide. I hope somehow in her heart she knows that her sacrifice was the greatest gift to the two people I am so thankful for, my parents. Their love, generosity and nurturing through good times and bad have made me the person I am.”; - Marianne E.W. Schultz of Kaneohe

  “;I give thanks for being born and raised in Hawaii, living in a country where a person's background doesn't prevent him from being elected as our 44th president. For being able to be a part of that history-making election and witness a man that was born in Hawaii, being able to overcome racial and political difference. I am thankful for being an American.”; - Stanford Kanehiro

  “;I am thankful for my roots in Hawaii. It has been almost 48 years since I left to come to live in France. I was born in the post-Depression years but have retained the warm and nurturing side of living in the country among other emigrant families on the outskirts of Waialae. We had a heartwarming reunion last year, remembering things and places that no longer exist, experiences shared that are difficult in today's individualistic world. Difficult times engendered closer community ties and mutual aid. May we rediscover this aspect of life in the hard times ahead.”; - Fujiko Leonardi of France

  “;I am thankful for my family's continued health and happiness. I am thankful for the warmth that comes from seeing my children smile. I am thankful for their laughter that assures me of their love for life and how much the simplest things mean to them. It in turn reminds me not to sweat the small stuff in life.”; - Cheryl K.T. Naholowaa of Pearl City