Buddy Booby's Birthmark

With 1 in every 30 babies being born with a visible vascular birth such as a hemangioma, port wine stain or venous malformation, you would think that there would be more understanding and acceptance. Not to mention more being done in the medical community. If you think that this topic doesn't apply to you, think again. 1 in 30! Your next child could be facing this, your newborn could develop a birthmark and if anything, a friend of your child may have one and you should be prepared to discuss differences and acceptance with your child.

As a parent of a child with a Hemangioma I find a constant struggle between whether or not to look into surgical options which are life threatening, or ride it out and empower Ruby so that if hers does not go away on it's own, she will be proud to be different. With 1 in 30 children being born these days with a birthmark similar to hers, one would think that she may just find several children in her school who are as uniquely special as she is, and we would not have to worry about questions, stares and comments (from adults as well) when she gets to be school age. However, I am afraid we haven't quite evolved to that yet.

Ruby is a lucky girl, her birthmark is already fading, but for millions of parents around the world their children go through drastic, life threatening surgeries, and everyday struggles with acceptance. For this I am grateful for the Vascular Birthmarks Foundation, and a new book for children and parents about an animal born with a birthmark. Evan Ducker, son of the books author Donna Ducker was born with a port wine stain. Having first hand knowledge of the topic, who better to pen this inspiring book?

Buddy Booby's Birthmark Book is a beautifully written and illustrated tale about Buddy, a red footed booby bird in the Galapagos Islands. Born with a red mark on his nose he is not welcomed with loving arms by his community. When granted one wish by a mysterious sea hawk you would think that he would wish that his birthmark be removed, but will he? Foreword by Hannah Storm, CBS News' The Early Show Anchor, who herself has a birthmark on her face that she covers with makeup- did you know that?

The Vascular Birthmarks Foundation celebrates it's International Day of Awareness on Monday May 15, 2006. At VBF we like to think of everyday as "Awareness Day" and hope that if you have the means to support a donation of any kind to the organization that you will. You can start with purchasing Buddy Booby's Birthmark Book. What else can you do? Visit www.Birthmark.org for ways that you personally could get involved, or if someone that you know has a vascular birthmark, this is the only place in the world that you will receive the help that you need. As a member of the Board of Directors I can work with you one on one to set up some sort of way to get involved. Here at the Daily Stroll we give 5% of our advertising revenue to VBF. Founded by an amazingly dedicated and educated woman, Linda Rozell-Shannon, VBF in an International charitable organization that provides support and informational resources for individuals affected by hemangiomas, port wine stains and other vascular birthmarks and tumors, while sponsoring relevant research and promoting physician education.