Christmas is fast approaching...presents are wrapped and under the tree (an obscene amount this year....the grandparents went a little overboard, lol)...the turkey will be purchased soon...cookies for Santa need to be made...it's a busy season.
And, I thought I would put my Christmas wish out there. It's not quite what you might think...I'm not asking for clothes, or shoes, or books, or DVD's or, well, anything tangible actually. Nope, my wish is different.
My wish backstory: I need to start here.
All of you who read this know that Kieran has polydactyly of the left thumb. We're know he is going to have surgery sometime this summer to remove the extra thumb. What we're not sure of is the outcome for his "regular" thumb.
After his birth, I did some online reading of various sources (hospital info, research papers, etc) and discovered that usually, the "normal" thumb is smaller than normal and probably less functional. We thought we were okay on this front-as Kieran's "normal" thumbs on both the right and left hand were the same size.
However, we started to notice (within a few weeks of his birth) that he just didn't have quite the same grip with the left hand as the right-he didn't seem to want to wrap that thumb ("regular" one) and forefinger around adult fingers as much as he did the right hand.
Well, a couple of days ago, I noticed that his grip with that hand really hasn't improved-at least not as much as the right hand has. I also noticed that while that thumb has grown (as have the rest of his hand/fingers on both sides), the "normal" thumb on the left has not grown as much as the right. It's smaller-both shorter and slimmer than the thumb on his right hand. The joint on the left is also tighter-he's not able to bend it as much, and it just doesn't seem to have the same dexterity when I manipulate it.
So, I have to ask the doctor some more questions (in a month, at his 4 month well-baby visit). At this point, we're not sure if his left thumb will catch up to the right, or if it will always be smaller, or what the function of it might be.
It of course doesn't both him in the least...he's never known different. He's a happy, healthy baby. He loves to talk to us, smiles like crazy and is working on a laugh! We've gotten a few gurgly-giggly noises out of him. He's got quite the personality!
My biggest worry about Kieran's thumb-how others will react. I don't want him teased when he is in school (if the remaining thumb is much smaller/less functioning), I don't want people making comments about him...he's just a kid, a little boy. My single biggest fear-that he won't be accepted as is...among friends and especially among family.
Sure, Jason and I wish that he didn't have this-not because we're ashamed or embarassed-heck, we count ourselves lucky that he has a thumb-it could be worse. We think he's perfect the way he is. We just wish that for his sake-he didn't have something so obvious that identifies him as "abnormal". People are mean...we don't want him to experience that..
So back to my Christmas wish....everyone is always so consumed over their wants for actual Christmas presents....
For my Christmas gift, I'd like everyone to take some time out to teach their kids that differences amongst other kids is okay...and that it's NOT okay to make fun of someone due to a physical "defect"-afterall, they can't help the way they were born. I'd like everyone to stop making fun of someone they see because they walk funny, or have a weird looking body part, or sound funny...
Really, it's an easy Christmas wish to grant me...it doesn't cost anything, you don't have to take it to the post office, and it'll make the world a nicer place to a child. (or an adult-they sure don't need the insults either).
