For 8-year-old Tatum Gordon, her ears posed an emotionally painful condition.

The Mentor resident was born with ears which grew disproportionately to her other facial features, making them perpendicular to her head. The very prominent ears greatly reduced her self-confidence and often drew negative attention from other children, causing her to be bullied and ridiculed.

She said that taunting calls of “monkey ears” and being told that she was too weird to play with made her feel disabled.