The Little Warrior
A time in my life that I cannot recall a single memory no matter how hard I try …
A few months after I came home from my journey in the incubator, my parents started to notice a small odd-looking blister on the bottom right corner of my bottom lip. As the days went by, they noticed that the blister hadn't diminished in size, but it didn’t seem to be anything to worry about, so they just let me be and carried on with their normal life. A few weeks later, however, they noticed that it had slightly grown. They took me to the pediatrician in hopes of figuring out what this strange-looking blister could be, but the doctor just told my parents to continue observing it and to come back if they saw it getting worse. After a couple of days, I was back at the pediatrician’s office. Anxiously waiting for answers, my parents did their best to stay calm and hope it was nothing serious. The doctor called us in and examined the blister once more; this time identifying it as a hemangioma. Now, you might be asking yourself, “a hema what?” A hemangioma is a blood tumor that can form in any part of the body and is especially common in premature babies. My parents were shocked when they found out that their baby had a tumor, but relieved to learn that it was completely benign. Happy and finally at peace that my odd-looking blister had a name, my parents knew this was just the start of yet another very long, stressful, and a new journey in my life.
The Red Strawberry.
When my parents came home from the doctor’s office, they immediately started researching more about hemangiomas. They soon discovered that the kind of hemangioma I had developed was called a strawberry hemangioma and it can be found in any part of the lip. Mine just happened to be in the bottom right corner. It had started to form when I was about 4 months old. As the months went by, my hemangioma grew along with me. My parents had to work as a team together to find new ways of giving me my baby food without letting the spoon crash into my hemangioma. Not only was figuring out a new way to feed me a mission for my parents; but also what was even more stressful was the fact that this tumor would bleed. Yep, you heard that right. The blood vessels that formed this tumor were not normal and would cause the hemangioma to bleed if anything would touch it. This went from putting my hands in my mouth, trying to bite baby toys, and even falling to the floor when I started to learn to crawl and walk. It was a vicious and exhausting cycle for my parents, but they were not giving up anytime soon. They were going to find a way to get this tumor removed from my lip.
All Eyes On Me.
Anywhere that my parents would take me, everyone would stop and stare. Unfortunately with how we are as human beings, judging others by their appearance is something common. In my opinion, that needs to stop. People need to see the beauty of others internally and not externally. At times when I was at the supermarket with my mom; people would stop her and ask if I had gotten hurt and if I was okay. My mom would just give them a short explanation about my hemangioma and carry on. Of course, all my family saw my real, true beauty. My strawberry tumor didn’t take away any of my external beauty. My appearance never stopped my parents from taking me to all sorts of different, beautiful places where we lived. This is something that I would do exactly the same if I would have been in my parent’s shoes. Never let others ruin your day with a negative or worrisome comment. My parents always reminded themselves that what I had developed on my lip was something quite rare, and it was normal for people to stop us along the way throughout daily life and adventures. Again like I mentioned before, this never stopped my parents from letting me see the world with my eyes as a miracle baby.
Finding Answers In Unexpected Ways.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, my parents were still struggling to find where and when I could have this hemangioma removed from my lip. Anxiously trying to figure out when the answer will appear, my mom didn’t realize that God had the answer to her prayers closer to her reach than then she could ever have imagined. One day she was flipping through a magazine in a doctor's office waiting room and something caught her eye: a small article with a photograph titled The American Association of Infants With Hemangiomas. My mom couldn’t believe that right in front of her could be the possible answer of how I could get this hemangioma removed. She took the article home with her and immediately reached out to the association. She was able to get in contact with the association’s president, a mother whose daughter was soon scheduled to get plastic surgery by a specialist in Arkansas. My mom continued to write to this woman and ask her all sorts of questions. One day, my mom received a letter in the mail from her sharing more details about her daughter's hemangioma. When my mom finished reading the letter, she looked at the attached photograph and realized that this little girl had a strawberry hemangioma on her lower lip just like mine! I mean what were the chances of that happening?! My parents were finally filled with so much joy because their prayers had been answered in such unexpected and mysterious ways. With my mom finally being able to contact the plastic surgeon in Arkansas, I was one step closer to finally saying “goodbye” to the tumor.
The Trip Of A Lifetime.
With so much planning ahead of us, my parents couldn’t wait for the day that they would finally see the face of their little girl without this hemangioma. After my mom told my father the incredible news, they immediately booked the trip to Arkansas and soon we were off. I was 10 months old and after so much waiting, this day was going to change my life forever. Since I was so young I don’t have any memories of visiting this town and going to the hospital. The only memories I can hold on to are the photographs my parents took of me moments before entering the surgery room. Deep inside my subconscious, I knew I was in the right hands and this doctor knew exactly what to do. As I was going into surgery, another difficult moment for my parents was the long hours ahead of them. Sitting and waiting is always the hardest part when you’re not the one going into surgery. In all the years of my life, I've never been in this position. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult it must be. Not knowing how the surgery is going along, the only thing my parents could do was pray and know that I was in good hands. Hours passed and I was finally out of surgery. The moment my parents had been waiting for so long was finally in front of their eyes. There I was, the little girl that I was meant to be all this time. The doctor informed my parents that the surgery was a huge success and everything went exactly as planned. This was such a relief to my parents; they couldn’t hold in the joy they were feeling inside. My parents were finally able to pick me up and take a close look to see my real true beauty that was being covered up by the hemangioma. Before leaving the hospital, my parents told the doctor and all the staff members how truly grateful they were to have found them and what a blessing it was to finally be able to look at me the way I was intended to be. Last but not least, we said our final goodbye to everyone. Heading straight home, we packed our bags and were off to the airport.
Blessed Beyond Words.
In taking a moment to really think about this experience, I think about that if it weren’t for the incredible miracles that happened along the way, who knows how I would look like right now. Everything placed in my path to help my family find that doctor is what makes me believe that everything in life happens for a reason. Although I’ll never be able to remember that time in my life, it's a story I will continue to share with others. The scar that I was left with represents yet another battle that was placed in my life that I was able to overcome and conquer. Never forget that the battles you’re faced with will only make you a stronger person from who you already are.
