Monday, July 12, 2010

What is that? (emphasis on the "that")

My oldest (by a mere six minutes), Hadley, has recently lost the majority of the thick, dark hair that she was born with. She, apparently, would prefer to be a blonde. Oh, if only the rest of us could change our hair color that easily and inexpensively. I digress; there is a reason I bring up Hadley's hair other than to discuss coiffure. Her sudden hair loss has prompted many people to suddenly assume that my poor daughter's noggin has sustained some sort of blunt force trauma. Okay, well, maybe not that extreme, but there is a noticeable, quarter-sized, raised lump on top of her head that does spark many people to ask, and/or inform me, about her "boo-boo". This "lump" has been there for over three months, so while the rest of the world is just realizing its existence, we have become accustomed to it's presence, and quite honestly forget about it until it is pointed out.

What is this bump, you ask? It's called a hemangioma. Basically it's a benign tumor of cells that line blood vessels. When I am asked about it, pretty much every time we go out into public anymore, I've learned to dumb my response down to, "It's a birth mark." At first, I felt like I should inform people of hemangiomas, and educate them, but that gets tiring, and quite frankly, people don't really care that much--it's almost comical to watch their eyes glaze over as I rattle off medical jargon. They are just probably checking to make sure I'm not throwing my daughter down the stairs.

We have taken Hadley to the pediatric dermatologist to have her hemangioma checked out since it is located close to her soft spot. He said it is absolutely no big deal, and will go away on its own by the time she is three years old. Hemangiomas are most common in females--check, preemies--check, Caucasians--check and multiples--check. I guess one of our daughters was bound to have one of these suckers. He then proceeded to show us pictures of hemangiomas that are actually something to worry about. That was humbling--I looked at both of my daughters and gave thanks.

You can see Hadley's hemangioma below (she is on the right in the first picture).






6 comments:

Shell said...

I LOVE the first pic of the girls! That is so precious! I also LOVE you Jenkins GIRLS!

Amanda said...

Good work, Julie. I'm glad you wrote about this. People are nosey. I'm glad the dermatologist recommended to leave it be. Keep taking good care of those girls.

Melissa Ann said...

Bronwyn has two hemangiomas. Female, preemie, caucasian, multiples, check! ;) Both of hers look so much worse than yours. You can find photos of one if you do a search on 'cloth diaper' at my blog. The other is on her tush. Both of hers are also started to involute already (glazing over white). I still haven't simplified my response, but I'm sure I haven't been asked as often as you have because of location ;)

Robertsons said...

I came across your blog thru a friend's, I don't have twins, but another friend of mine is about to, doesn't matter.

My daughter, born 3 weeks early, a singleton, has 3 hemangiomas, each one COMPLETELY different. She is now 2 1/2. The one on her thigh is fading, the one in the middle of her back is glazing over white, VERY slowly. But the one on her little tushy has been the problem. It started out looking like it was peeling and became an open, infected, bleeding sore the size of a quarter. I'm glad you sought a dermatologist early. Make sure he/she keeps an eye on it and if you notice a peeling or change, get her in quickly because they can change rapidly. My daughter will have a permanent scar on her tush from hers. Could be WAY worse, as I'm sure you've seen, but it is still streesful if they ulcerate.

Robertsons said...

I came across your blog thru a friend's, I don't have twins, but another friend of mine is about to, doesn't matter.

My daughter, born 3 weeks early, a singleton, has 3 hemangiomas, each one COMPLETELY different. She is now 2 1/2. The one on her thigh is fading, the one in the middle of her back is glazing over white, VERY slowly. But the one on her little tushy has been the problem. It started out looking like it was peeling and became an open, infected, bleeding sore the size of a quarter. I'm glad you sought a dermatologist early. Make sure he/she keeps an eye on it and if you notice a peeling or change, get her in quickly because they can change rapidly. My daughter will have a permanent scar on her tush from hers. Could be WAY worse, as I'm sure you've seen, but it is still streesful if they ulcerate.

Amanda said...

Good work, Julie. I'm glad you wrote about this. People are nosey. I'm glad the dermatologist recommended to leave it be. Keep taking good care of those girls.