Posted on 12/12/2004 3:55:37 PM PST by AM2000
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- When most parents have a baby, they spend months dreaming about what their bundle of joy will look like. Will she look like mom? Will he have dad's eyes? But for one local Navy family, the birth of their daughter didn't give them the answers to those questions. Their daughter was born without a face.
When Tammy was pregnant, she knew something was wrong. At worst, they thought maybe their baby had a cleft lip.
So Tammy, and her husband Tom, went to the hospital happy, until the birth.
"The nurse is like, 'We got her stable, we need to rush her upstairs,'" explains Tom, as he recalls every minute of that day. "And the nurse asked, 'Do you want your wife to see her now?'"
Tom says he thought to himself, "Before she gets the shock I did, let me take a picture so she's prepared."
Tammy hadn't seen her new baby yet, because she almost bled to death during delivery. Tammy would be okay, meanwhile, dad went to take pictures of his new daughter.
But no matter what, these new parents had a wish. "That if there was something wrong, she wouldn't be alone. We wanted to make sure she felt loved," said Tom, as he began to cry. "She squeezed my hand."
Little Juliana is missing 30 - 40 percent of the bones in her face.
"She has no upper jaw, no cheek bones, no eye sockets, and she's missing the corner of her ear," explains Tom.
Her birth defect is called Treacher Collins Syndrome. Doctors say it's the worst case they've ever seen.
So, how do you get people to see past all the defects, and find her heart? For mom, it just hurts.
"I just wish people would ask questions. Don't just stare," says Tammy. "I guess the most hurtful thing came not long ago, a little girl said she was disgusting."
Juliana has to eat through her stomach, and she has a trach to breathe. Already, less than two years into her life, she's had 14 surgeries. Doctors say she could need at least 30 more.
Every time she goes to the hospital, doctors make a mold of her head, and then reconstruct her skull to figure out the next step.
It's a life-long process that's draining for Tammy and Tom. Even still, they're thankful and full of love for their sweet child.
"God never gives you more than you can handle. I figure she has a lot to show everyone... to show the world," says Tom.
If you are interested in helping the Wetmore family, a savings account is set up for donations at the Vystar Credit Union in Middleburg.
Donations can be made at ANY Vystar Credit Union to Juliana Wetmore at member number 2102465.
Direct donations can be sent to:
Juliana Wetmore
3018 Hickory Glenn Dr.
Orange Park, FL 32065
Windsong, may I include your name with my contribution? For all who see with natural eyes and not spiritual.
I disagree with you. They despaired. God would have carried them through anything that they encountered; if only they would have trusted Him.
Unfortunately, part of human nature is to think we can do it on our own.
I can make a small effort. The devil loves it when we try to blame God for horrible things that happen because it causes us to question His infinite goodness. When Adam committed high treason by defying God in the Garden of Eden, and because all humanity descended from Adam, we were all transfered into the kingdom of darkness. God originally created man to live forever, and he would have had he not chosen to disobey the Lord, thus giving his allegiance to the devil. God, out of His great mercy, chose to send His Son, Jesus to pay the price for the sins of us all. This was the only way for fallen man to be forgiven, redeemed, justified, and thus restored to the position of a new creation---made righteous once again before God. Those who accept this gift are transferred into the Kingdom of God. However, until the return of Jesus Christ, satan and his dark minions still are permitted to rule in this world; thus, birth defects, terrible tragedies, and unspeakable evil will continue until the day of the Lord. Our job is to live as examples of the Lord's love, sharing the Gospel with as many as we can so that they can avoid the destiny of hell, meaning that they did nothing to accept the Lord's gift of salvation. This family is doing exactly what God has asked them to do. The Lord will use this precious little child for good and not evil. She will be a blessing far greater than anyone can predict. I hope this message comes across with the spirit of love and caring that I intended it to convey. God bless.
She's perfect now. God doesn't make mistakes.
Face transplants are skin, for severe burn victims and such. Sounds like this girl's problem is strictly a skeletal abnormality. Given the extent of the disfigurement, there may not be much that can be done.
Have you seen any of the shows on tv about the doctor in Little Rock who operates on people who have some disorder which lets bunches of blood vessels grow on the face. Some of them are so huge that it takes many, many operations to get rid of most of it. The kids are wonderful and they usually have the surgery while very young before people start making fun of them. Makes me appreciate my family more.
You are attempting to put forth a condition to a biblical quote that contains an unconditional promise.
So this little babies disfigurement is the effect of sin?
You are not keeping up with the exchanges, old man.
Thank you.
I hear you. This one is off the charts. Either god does not exist, or he is incredibly cruel at times.
Why is God blamed for all the CRAP in the world, but never
thanked for any of the GOOD in the world? How do we know
what the end of this will be in this world?
The only condition in there that has to be met, is trusting God to carry you through. If you don't meet that condition, then yes, you can succomb to despair.
Or the affect it will have on others. I always loved Dale Evan's book, Angel Unaware, which was about Robin Elizabeth who was born with Down's Syndrome. Who knows how many people her short book influenced? How many people will be touched by this little girl's story?
I haven't seen that show, but I do think that adversity builds character & this little girl will conquer issues that will take most of us the rest of our lives to come to grips with. Someday she'll have a very interesting perspective on life.
"It's things like this that make you realize how small your own problems really are."
Amen to that. I've been wondering where to send some of those Christmas $, got my answer here.
God bless them all.
All the posts tonight are making me cry.
I am the father of a handicapped child. When he was born my wife and I thought our lives were over. We were very wrong. God's love will be made manifest in the world through this child.
Because people are too busy taking credit for all the good. They only deem the existence of God to be of importance when they need to shift the blame onto someone.
How do we know what the end of this will be in this world?
We don't. And since our capacity in assessing the good that is the outcome of this child's life is limited, we rely on faith that a God that formed this child's soul, that voluntarily lowered Himself to human existence, endured persecution, was crucified and fought the pit of Hell to save our damned souls just might care more about this child than annonymous arrogant keyboard gods that seek to mock the source of these parents' strength.
If someone chooses not to believe in God, so be it. I would state, however, that these people chose not to abort this child. They chose not to destroy this life. They choose to endure hardship on her behalf. They experience every motion of pain. They sacrifice "normal" lives to care for her needs. And they are gifted with her love in return.
They believe in God. They have faith God has her best interests at heart and a plan. They have faith He is by their side. I would consider it the height of arrogance to mock their expression of Faith. I consider these people to be worthy of our respect, not mockery.
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