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KATIE CRENSHAW (Mother): I’m not worried
about her childhood or what she’ll have to deal with, I think the confidence that
we instill in her as her parents and immediate family, will be the most important factor
in how she grows up feeling about herself.
COMM: Blogger and mum of two, Katie Crenshaw,
writes about beauty, food and motherhood. But recently her post went viral as she vented
about people’s reactions to her eight-month old daughter Charlie’s birthmark.
KATIE CRENSHAW (Mother): I had no idea that
it was going to get the attention or response that it got after it went viral. There was
way more people that could relate to it than I ever would’ve imagined.
TYLER CRENSHAW (Father): I honestly didn’t
expect any response; I just thought people would think it was normal. That she’s just
a baby, just a normal little girl that does everything every other baby does.
KATIE CRENSHAW (Mother): A lot of the time
people just have no idea what it is and the questions range from “What am I going to
do about it?” to “How long will it be there?” “What happened to her?” A lot
of people actually think it’s an injury. I think some of the most hurtful things people
have said, “It’s too bad her face looks like that, she would be so pretty otherwise”
or “it’s just a shame that she will have a tough childhood because of that”. I think
the reaction I dislike the most is people who come up to me and feel sorry for her or
they offer their sympathy or their pity or their prayers. I wish that they didn’t notice
that as something that defined who she was.
COMM: Charlie’s birthmark is a capillary
hemangioma or strawberry mark, which wasn’t this large when she was born.
KATIE CRENSHAW (Mother): When I first saw
her birthmark it was flat and a pink colour, it didn’t look like this at all. Hemangioma
start out flat, so it wasn’t very prominent and I also didn’t know much about it yet.
So I didn’t really have any thoughts at all except for, this is just what she looks like.
TYLER CRENSHAW (Father): Honestly, nothing
but the fact that I loved her went through my head, I didn’t even think of anything
else. Didn’t really notice it at first.
COMM: Charlie’s brother Grayson doesn’t
treat his sister any differently.
GRAYSON (Brother): Charlie is my baby sister;
I like to play with her. We play rock. Rock is when you cover someone with a blanket and
you have to be real still. I like snapping my fingers to make Charlie laugh!
COMM: Charlie’s birthmark doesn’t affect
her health. She takes blood pressure tablets to prevent it from growing any larger. And
many hemangiomas shrink by themselves over time.
KATIE CRENSHAW (Mother): Went through diagnostic
imaging when she was six-weeks old to see what kind of hemangioma it was and it’s
kinda where it went in to her face and surgery was never an option for her anyway.
COMM: Katie has 13,000 followers on Instagram
and encouraged by the many messages of support, proudly continues to post photographs of Charlie.
KATIE CRENSHAW (Mother): I take a lot of pictures
of both my kids and everything around me all the time, so Charlie’s hemangioma does not
affect the way I pose her in photos or retouch photos. Its just part of who she is. To people
who have offered pity - I would just say that she doesn’t need sympathy, she is a happy,
healthy little girl and she is beautiful the way she was made and she will grow up with
confidence and a unique feature.