“I looked down at her hands and knew something was off. The mom in me knew. ‘So she’s going to be small? No big deal!’ We could tell there was something else he wasn’t telling us.”
‘I’ll see her in one month IF she makes it until then.’ He asked if we were related, multiple times. I was APPALLED.’: Mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘She’s doing AMAZING’
‘What’s wrong with my baby?’ Her head was measuring large and her femurs were small. We were in denial this could happen to us.’: New mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘It DOESN’T define her’
“Everything had gone so wrong. ‘Did I eat something I shouldn’t have? Get exposed to something harmful?’ What was supposed to be the happiest part of our lives had turned into a nightmare.”
‘We got THE CALL. Without a second thought, I said, ‘Yes! A thousand times yes!’ I knew she was meant to be ours.’: Mom of 5 adopts baby with rare case of dwarfism, ‘She has no limits’
“Her legs seemed so weak. ‘They don’t make walkers her size.’ She pulled herself up. Within days, she was taking steps. She’s shown me to not put any limits on her.”
‘You were born for our entertainment.’ An avalanche of mean comments poured in. It was crushing.’: Woman with dwarfism ‘determined’ to spread awareness
“With a smile, my dad said, ‘You’re going to be tiny all your life.’ It didn’t usually bother me. I found acceptance and kindness at nearly every turn. And then I went viral.”
‘I’m 5’7″ and my husband is 6’3″. How could this be?’ We had no family history.’: Mom celebrates daughter with Dwarfism, ‘It’s part of what makes her perfect’
“The tech printed off the ultrasound photos and joked, ‘Your baby looks bald.’ After getting measurements of her arms and legs a few times, she left me alone. As the minutes ticked by, it started to click—something was wrong. The doctor came in, sat down, and passed me a box of tissues. My mind was spinning.”
‘I joined the basketball team in 5th grade. I just wanted to make ONE basket. I had to show I’m not a burden.’: Woman with Dwarfism spreads awareness, ‘I want to teach kindness’
“I never thought I’d get married because no one could like me because of my height. Now I have a husband who is 6’2.”
‘This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.’ We were starting to lose hope. What was going on with our baby?’: Couple advocates for son’s rare diagnosis, Cutis Laxa Type 3, ‘He’s a warrior’
“He was born full-term, weighing just two pounds. He gained five pounds. Then the seizures started. All we saw were tubes, PICC lines, and NG tubes. We weren’t getting any answers.”
‘We sat our children, 8 and 3, down. ‘Your sister’s bones didn’t grow like yours. She could die during birth.’ They couldn’t stop crying.’: Mom births miracle baby with Skeletal Dysplasia
“The size of her head was measuring 39 weeks while the rest of her body wasn’t. The doctor slid a paper with information on it. ‘We need to induce you.’ I didn’t sleep the night before. At 5 a.m. we made the 45-minute drive to the hospital to find out I was already in active labor, and I was positive for Strep. There wasn’t a dry eye in the delivery room.”
‘We see abnormalities.’ An exciting morning turned into a nightmare. I silently prayed.’: Baby diagnosed with Thanatophoric Dysplasia, ‘We wanted to enjoy the time with our baby in my womb’
“Lethal. No cure. The geneticist tried to make us feel better by telling us it was not our fault, it wasn’t anything we had done, or could have done to prevent this. Of course, that didn’t make us feel better.”
‘What’s it like being a little person?’ I was touched without my consent and forced to apologize. I was so naive.’: Woman with Achondroplasia urges ‘I’m not a little person, I’m not a dwarf, I’m just Chandler’
“For so long, I thought the compliments were genuine. People would brag about how smart my brother was and be in awe over my sister’s art, while I got a pat on the head for just being…me. When I’d move my head out of the way and say, ‘Don’t pat my head,’ I got, ‘Your daughter shouldn’t talk to me like that. You should teach her manners.’ If I said ‘no’ when being asked if they could shake my hand, because they ‘always wanted to shake a little person’s hand,’ I was ‘rude.’ I felt trapped.”
