Surgery successful, but he was handsome before, too

Gage Berger was a normal little boy whose ears stuck out a bit. It was due to this that he became the focus of bullying at his elementary school. The incidents became so common that Gage’s parents started to look for options.

Tim and Kallie, Gage’s parents, heard the students’ mean nicknames. They watched helplessly as their son looked in the mirror while trying to push back his ears. Bullying can have damaging effects: just ask Bethany Mota, who had to be homeschooled because of it. “He just gets really down on himself and he thinks, ‘I’m not good enough,’” Kallie said. They didn’t want the bullying to do permanent damage, so they came up with their own solution: They allowed Gage to get plastic surgery to pin his ears back. “They often get some not-so-nice names stuck to them, like ‘bat ears’ or ‘elf ears,’ and that sticks with them through middle school and high school,” said Dr. Steven Mobley. The surgery was completed in about two hours, and you can watch the big reveal in the video below. “Oh my gosh!” Gage exclaims when he sees the new look.

No one likes to be bullied and no one would question the parents’ choice to have Gage undergo the simple surgery. Lets get it straight, though; he was a handsome little boy already.

It is a shame that any time someone is unique, they must change themselves to fit with societal standards. Perhaps anti-bullying campaigns should teach kids to find beauty in differences as well.