My child has hemangiomas???

My beautiful little angel who was born with a very tiny red birth mark on her head has a similar condition to the man with a face eating tumor! After I had a little nervous breakdown, I composed myself enough to listen to the rest of what the doctor was saying. He told my husband and I that it really wasn't something to be concerned about, but that they would keep an eye on it. As my daughter got older the tiny red birth mark grew to be the size of a half dollar and was raised up about an inch or so off of her head. In addition to the hemangioma that she was born with, about 10 other ones developed on her tiny little body. Some were tiny and never grew much at all, some were underneath her skin and looked like small bruises, and three of them were raised up significantly.

As any concerned parent would do we made an appointment with a Vascular Abnormality specialist at Arkansas Childrens Hospital, Dr. Greshram Richter. He examined our daughter when she was about 3 months old and gave us a few options. He explained to us that hemangiomas go through phases, they will be in a growth phase for about the first year, and then will begin to involute on their own. In most cases the hemangiomas will involute completely by age 5, but any larger ones will leave behind skin that is stretched out and sagging. Our first option was to do nothing at all and let nature run it's course and any sagging skin can be treated through surgery at that point. Our second option was a clinical study on a beta blocker called Propanolol. Propanolol is a very safe drug typically used to lower blood pressure, but hasn't been prescribed for children with vascular abnormalities. After doing some research on the internet and discussing it with my husband, we decided that it was worth a shot. My husband and I kept a close watch from week to week hoping to see the effects of this new drug. Right away we noticed a difference in how the hemangiomas felt. Usually they felt firm and very warm to the touch and looked bright red, but when given Propanolol they felt very soft, and slowly we noticed they became a lighter shade of red. After being on Propanolol for a few months, we realized that her hemangiomas weren't getting any smaller in size, but they weren't growing either! Knowing that they weren't getting any larger was a great feeling, and seeing some of them begin to involute was such a relief! My daughter turned one on June 3rd of this year, which was a wonderful time for celebration, but my husband and I knew it was decision time. Now that her hemangiomas were all in the involution phase, we had to decide whether to let nature run it's course and have what remains surgically removed when she is 5, or do we take matters in our own hands and have them removed when she is still young. This was the toughest decision we have ever had to make as parents. In our eyes our daughter is perfect in every way, but the unintentional ignorant public around us didn't necessarily agree. This experience has made me better understand those with physical handicaps and deformities. When you are shopping at Wal-Mart going about your day, and hear people whisper and see them in the corner of your eye stare pass your daughter's stunning blue eyes to see a birth mark! It never made me angry or hurt even, but made me reflect on my own reactions to other people going about his or her day that God made just a little bit differently then me. She is a a very happy and sociable baby and will smile at every person we meet, and she is too young to understand how some people look at her differently (she just loves the attention!) When it came time to decide whether to have surgery now, or wait until she is older, I have to admit this was something that was weighing on my mind. In addition to the funny looks and whispers, I didn't want my sweet little girl to remember being in a hospital or recovering from surgery. So on June 19th, 2009, Adalyn Grace had 3 hemangiomas removed. The largest one on her head, a much smaller one on her ear lobe, and a nickel sized one on her right shoulder blade. All three of these hemangiomas would leave behind sagging skin because of their size and would have to be removed later any way. There are no plans to have the other 8 smaller ones removed, which are all located on her torso, they should all involute completely on their own.

I hope that you have taken from this experience the same thing that I have. When you see someone that God made a little differently from yourself, think about how you would feel if that was your daughter or son. I understand that people are curious about things that they know little about, but treat them like your family, not like an exhibit on display. Don't be afraid, introduce yourself and ask questions if you are that curious! I know that I would much rather take a minute or two out of my day to educate someone then to be whispered about.

As soon as we brought her home from the hospital, she wanted to crawl around the whole house. The next day was like nothing ever happened, she was back to her happy self! God is so good!