When baby Kingsley was born, he was born with half of his face covered with a red birthmark.
At first, it looked like a harmless birthmark but the doctors told Kingsley’s parents, Brooke and Kewene, otherwise. Kingsley’s birthmark is called a port wine stain and needs to be lasered before it gets worse.
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Port wine stains look pink at birth but become a dark maroon color when the babies grow older.
It can appear anywhere in the body but it’s more dangerous to the baby’s health if the birthmark covers the forehead and eyes.
If it covers the forehead, it could lead to a diagnosis of a rare neurological disorder called Sturge-Weber syndrome. And when it covers the eyes, the baby could develop glaucoma. And at four months old, Kingsley was diagnosed with both.
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Brooke and Kewene decided to treat Kingsley’s port wine stain with laser treatment.
“The purpose of the laser treatments are not to ‘remove’ the birthmark but instead keep the skin healthy, to prevent any further damage to the area,” Brooke explained.
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It turns out, if left untreated, port wine stains can grow and develop and lump-like appearance, which can lead to constant bullying.
It can also bleed easily when the skin thickens. And because Kingsley was already diagnosed with Sturge-Weber syndrome, he could eventually be diagnosed with epilepsy, developmental delays, and learning disabilities.
Since Kingsley was still a baby, the doctors said it’s best to start laser treatment now, when it’s much easier to treat. The longer the person has had port wine stains, the harder it’ll be to treat it.
Because Kingsley’s birthmark is already a bit more advanced, they needed to have several treatments done. After that, it’s just once-a-year treatments to take care of the skin.
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Good news for Kingsley and her parents, right?
Unfortunately, in this social media world, people feel entitled to give their opinion even when they haven’t done the research.
Brooke was attacked by internet trolls when she posted about her son’s laser treatment on her TikTok account.
“Brainwashed mother making her kid insecure the second he gets out the womb,” one comment said.
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Several people bashed her even more and made her feel like she was a bad mom for choosing to have her son treated.
At first, reading the negative comments made Brooke question whether she did make the right decision for Kingsley. All she could do was cry because of all the harshness.
“I had a whole heap of mum guilt, and it made me question my decision. Even though I knew I was doing the right thing, the cruel words still played in my head,” Brooke shared.
But the negative comments were eventually drowned out by the positive comments, who supported Brooke’s decision. And there were so many users who said they also had port wine stain birthmarks and wish their parents did the same when they were babies.
“I would have done the same thing and wished I had a strong mum like you to help educate,” one of them added.
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This positive support was what kept her going and pushed her to spread awareness of port wine stain birthmarks and the importance of treatments.
She still continues to receive a lot of hate for her decision. But now, she knows she made the right decision. She’s not going to let people who don’t understand the situation get to her anymore.
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Watch the video below and see how laser treatment has done wonders for baby Kingsley.
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@brookecynBefore you comment nasty things – its not just a birthmark,its a portwine stain, the goal isnt to completley remove it, its to keep the skin healthy.Please research PWS before leaving uneducated, negative comments✌🏾♬ original sound – larissalambert
