Shannon
I'm a 22 year old female. Poland's syndrome is a very difficult thing to live with because of the fact that no one knows about it. It's not out in the publics eye that other birth disorders so people tend to be almost scared to be around you, like it's contagious or something. When I was younger my parents wanted to have my hand operated on. My response to them was "you don't love me how I am?". Now I wish that they had done it anyways because in the future it would have made my life a lot easier and happier. When I was born the doctors thought they had screwed up dusing delivery and actually didn't tell my parents about it. It was until my mom had taken me home and was changing me that she noticed and called the doctor to find out what was wrong with my hand. No one knew anything. I think the hardest part about living with this is the fact that I have only half a breast on one side. In a world where woman are expected to have perfect bodies, and other woman are quick to tell everyone about any imperfections in another woman's body, especially in high school, it became my goal in life to fool everyone and make them think I was perfect. I never dated in high school, no one wanted to go out with the freak. I was called webby, frog girl, etc. I happened to get lucky and meet a great man, who is now my husband, who didn't care about my body, only about who I am. Make your child's life easier, no matter what the cost. Do what you can to help them get through the tough years, and let them know you didn't do it because you didn't love who they were, but because you wanted others to be able to love them for who they are, and it does make it easier for them to get to know YOU without all the questions is the back of their minds.