“I remember vividly the first time Anna opened her eyes. She stared with such intent that I couldn’t bring myself to look away. The swelling from her eye lids had finally gone, and she opened her eyes and stared directly at me. I get mesmerized by the beauty in her skin. I know she was made for something special.”
‘This is when my daughter is most beautiful, covered in layers of extra skin. Celebrate her, instead of giving me pity.’: Mom of daughter with Harlequin Ichthyosis wishes people would ‘stare at her beauty’ instead of ‘hiding their stares’
‘Aww, You’re such a freak of nature!’ I stood there, with my own obvious difference, unsure of what to say. Because I’ve been there. ‘Two-face.’ ‘Ugly.’ ‘Freak.’
“I went to the animal shelter to look at puppies. Then I saw her. She has extra claws on her back paws. I ranted. I raved. If that’s what she thought about a dog in her care, what was she thinking about the customer standing in front of her with half of a purple face?”
‘Been trying a little experiment for the last 2 weeks, putting breast milk on one side of my stomach. I can’t believe the difference!’
“I rub it into my tummy while nursing and lather it on so it’s almost dripping off. I let it air dry and just pull my shirt over after. I put it on every time I nurse.”
‘CRYSTAL!’ I heard her yell, as her eyes lit up’: 9-year-old overjoyed to meet woman with ‘same beautiful purple hue’ prominent birthmark
“Until that afternoon, Naomi and I had never met – but she knew who I was. Even though we have a 17 year age gap, we already had many common life experiences: Stranger’s uncomfortable stares. Unkind comments. Medical treatments.”
‘I lost the father of my children because he was bit by a tick’: Wife details illness of husband who had been sick twice in 26 years
“Within 12 hours after being admitted, he went from joking and talking to being in ICU on a ventilator.”
