On Kayce Bernard’s kitchen table, comics are laid out like a Sunday morning spread. Each story with a hero of its own.
“I grew up with X-Men, the cartoon version back in the day, so they don’t seem to really like it as much as I hoped they would,” said Kayce.
In her son Ethan’s eyes, there’s one superhero who rises above the rest.
“I like him because he has superpowers and he can fly and help people and he’s a really good man,” said Ethan.
That man is Iron Man. His greatest weapon isn’t his innate strength. It’s the technology he relies on.
“I think he can kind of see himself in Iron Man,” said Kayce.
Just like the Avenger, Ethan wants to help others.
“It feels pretty good when you help somebody,” said Ethan. “Like my friend is crying and I help calm him down.”
While Iron Man’s story has no shortage of trials, at just 11 years old, Ethan’s story is no different.
“I was born deaf, and I have cochlear implants just like him,” said Ethan. “He has a heart reactor thing, so he has technology just like me.
Since he was born, Ethan’s relied on his cochlear implants to hear the world around him. It hasn’t always been easy.
“You’re kind of like, what’s going to be his quality of life?” said Kayce. ” Life’s hard as it is and I don’t want him to struggle.”
But thanks to stories like these, Ethan sees his setbacks as part of the journey.
“I can hear my family, my friends, and my coaches, and I can turn them off when the kids are screaming,” said Ethan.
Now, Ethan has a chance to see himself star in a real Stan Lee comic, after his mom, Kayce entered him into “Stan Lee’s Super Kid” competition.
At the thought of Ethan winning, Kayce said, “It would be amazing. I think everybody in the family would be jealous of him. And his friends. But I think it would also inspire other kids that have hearing loss to see another kid that they can relate to in a comic book.”
Ethan shows us that being different isn’t a weakness. It’s what can make us extraordinary.
You can vote for Ethan to win the “Stan Lee Super Kid” competition online here.
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