Parents always make every effort to protect their children, and these parents went above and above for their daughter. Celine Casey gave birth to her daughter Vienna Brookshaw in April 2021 in the United Kingdom. When Casey first met Vienna, she spotted a birthmark on her forehead, between her brows.
Vienna’s birthmark, congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN), had no effect on her health, but her mother was concerned that it may cause her emotional distress as she grew older. CMN is a disorder in which a newborn is born with a set of harmless pigment cells that may have expanded as Vienna grew older.
The condition Vienna has is rare, and nobody could predict how much the birthmark would grow as she got older. Her mom, Casey, didn’t want Vienna to go through any challenges because of it as she grew up.
Right away, Casey asked the doctors if there was anything they could do about the birthmark. She was worried that if they didn’t remove it, Vienna might be upset with her parents in the future.
Casey, the caring mom, mentioned, “We enjoy watching her grow on her journey, and we look forward to the day she grows up and can express her own thoughts. We’d love her no matter what, even if we kept the birthmark.”
The reason Casey wanted to remove Vienna’s birthmark was that when Vienna was a baby, people would stare at her. Casey noticed that others treated her baby differently from other babies. This made her even more determined to get the birthmark removed.
The NHS (National Health Service) said no to the surgery because they usually say no to surgeries that are not necessary for a person’s physical health. They thought the surgery was cosmetic, not essential.
So Casey launched a fundraising drive to raise money for the surgery from other sources. In just 24 hours, generous individuals contributed $52,000. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough because hospital expenditures had skyrocketed owing to the COVID-19 epidemic. The young parents needed an additional $27,000 for the surgery.
They asked for help on GoFundMe again to cover the extra costs for their daughter’s surgery to remove the birthmark.
The concerned mom explained, “Everyone has things they feel unsure about in their body. The doctor said it wouldn’t affect Vienna’s mental health right now. But we didn’t see it that way. She’s starting school at three, and little kids are clever; they notice things like that.”
Now, Vienna is two years old, and her birthmark has been completely removed. The only sign left is a small scar on her forehead. Casey, her mom, regularly updates on her daughter’s healing process and often comments on how ‘gorgeous’ her baby girl is.
Even after the birthmark was removed, the parents traveled to London to have the surgeon examine how nicely the little scar on Vienna’s forehead had healed. They wanted to ensure she didn’t require any additional surgery or therapies beyond the three she’d previously undergone. But for now, she’s a healthy two-year-old who doesn’t require any further medical attention!
We’re extending our best wishes to little Vienna. We hope she is always healthy! Feel free to share this with others so they can learn about her experience, too!
