Meet Abby
It’s 2003 and Heidi has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Abby. Everyone is celebrating this little bundle of joy and Heidi is as proud as a mum can be. Not even two weeks after Abby was born Heidi noticed a red mark on her right eye and started to get worried. Then she had reason to be, what started as a little mark is getting bigger and bigger. Concerned about Abby, Heidi voiced her worries to the local hospital only to be told that it was a pressure mark from childbirth. This sent alarm bells ringing for Heidi because she had had a C-section. While this was going on the mark on Abby’s face continued to get bigger and bigger. Determined to help Abby, Heidi decided to take action and asked to be referred to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, which is where she met Professor David. “This was the start of our journey” – Heidi said
Professor David informed Heidi that Abby suffered from a Haemangioma. Haemangiomas are malformations of blood vessels. They may involve arteries, veins or capillaries, individually or in various combinations. As a mum who will do anything to protect her child, the diagnosis hit Heidi particularly hard “I thought my world might cave in” Heidi explains. The medical team advised that Abby would need to be admitted for steroid treatment, meaning her little bundle of joy would need to have needles injected in her head and arms. Without this treatment they were concerned the Haemangioma would damage her eye. Even though his was daunting, Heidi says “We were just relieved to have someone know what was wrong and what to do”. –
As she was waiting for Abby to receive a CT scan, Heidi was inconsolable with worry. “In the waiting room this young boy sat next to me and told me everything was going to be fine. At the time I was resistant and thought he had no idea what I was going through, but I found out later that he had had multiple craniofacial surgeries and he DID know what I was going through” The craniofacial community supports each other and this encounter is not dissimilar from countless others. However, what makes this a serendipitous encounter is that the boy who comforted Heidi is Selva, who is now a Craniofacial Australia Campaign Ambassador, just like Abby. Abby and Selva are working together to help raise funds for Craniofacial Australia in order to help people just like them receive life-changing treatment and care. After not seeing each other for 17 years they are reunited for Craniofacial Australia’s ‘Embrace Your Face’ campaign.
When asked, Abby jumped at the chance to be a campaign ambassador for Craniofacial Australia as she has such a big heart and wants to support children who experience challenges. The Embrace Your Face campaign is especially close to Abby’s heart because she has faced adversity and overcome it and wants to help others do the same. Abby elucidates “Embrace Your Face is all about being happy about what I have and what I have grown up with. It’s about being happy within yourself and not worrying about what others might think. It may seem hard on different days and the days might seem long, but It will get better and the ones that stick around are the ones that matter”
Looking at Abby today you would never know she had such a severe condition as a child. After multiple steroid treatments, the Haemangioma started getting smaller, not bigger. And then it was gone. Since then Abby has gone from strength to strength and has grown into beautiful young lady. Abby is currently studying to be a beautician after finishing year 12 last year and has a tight-knit group of friends who support each other. Abby often talks about why Craniofacial Australia is important to her and why the work we do is so important.
“They have given me my life to be able to do things without the fear of being judged. Craniofacial Australia needs to be supported so other kids around the world can get the help they need to be able to live their lives” – Abby. Raising awareness and helping kids like Abby and Selva is what’s most important to Abby and it’s important to us too.
