Winry is a 13 month old baby born with a very peculiar spot on her face. Rather than see this birth defect as a weakness, her mother decided to celebrate her daughter’s difference.
Biological abnormalities leading to unique situations are legion. Superfetation, chimerism, thoracopagus twins, diphallia… these phenomena occur during the development of an embryo and have lifelong consequences. Parents, on the other hand, must not only take care of physical health of their newborn, but also to ensure, throughout their childhood, their mental healthbecause the latter will evolve in an environment where they will often have the feeling of being different others.
Since the birth of his daughter, this is what he tries to do Nicole Lucas Hall, a mother who shares her daily life on her social networks. 13-month-old Winry was born with a congenital melanocytic nevus (NMC), a dermatological lesion present on his face. It is not a disease but a skin anomaly due to a lack of embryogenesis (during the formation of the embryo). It results in the presence of a giant mole can cover up to 90% of the body surface. In Winry’s case, it’s almost the half of his face who is concerned. This anomaly has a prevalence of approximately 1 in 50,000 births.
“His health and happiness are our top priority”
But Nicole’s state of mind is clear: she has decided to celebrating the difference of her granddaughter and to show as many people as possible how beautiful her daughter is just the way she is. The young mother also takes the opportunity to raise public awareness of NMCwhile recalling that being “different is a superpower”, as she stated in Good Morning America (GMA).
“For many people, this is the first time they’ve seen a birthmark like Winry’s and that’s part of why I love sharing about it.”Nicole Hall tells GMA. “It’s a good conversation for parents who have a child who looks like Winry or has some kind of birthmark, for see their child represented“, she explained to the american media.
When Winry was born, she and her husband first thought it was a bruise on their daughter’s face. But quickly they understood that they should take serious precautions to preserve Winry’s fragile health. According to doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Winry is particularly at higher risk of developing melanoma.
Furthermore, Nicole is particularly worried about the Mental Health of her daughter who, throughout her childhood, will have to face the gaze of others. “His health and happiness are our top priority. We have to monitor its exposure to the sun. I pay attention to hats and that sort of thing. I know that our regular appointment with the dermatologist will probably become our best friend growing up.”, confides the young mother.
Nicole does not fail to share images of her daughter and communicate in a positive way on the distinctive signs of each. She also recalls that what characterizes Winry the most, according to her, is not the mark on her face, but his smile constant. “She just beams with joy. She almost always laughs or screams. She’s just the happiest baby I’ve ever seen.” rejoices Nicole. “She is already very talkative. She doesn’t know many words yet, but she knows how to make herself understood. I think we’ll have a lot to do”.
The social networks it feeds from inclusive and caring messages allowed Nicole to virtually meet people from around the world with similar stories. Some of them have even become friends! An example of solidarity, which is reminiscent of the story of Britney Budhi, whose baby was also born with a surprising particularity!
Every day, Lina strives to transcribe with the greatest accuracy and relevance possible the news of families, and to inform them about their health and their rights. Curious and…