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Family Has Daughter Born
Local Family Has Daughter Born Without a Face
By Jeannie Blaylock
First Coast News
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
Created: 11/26/2004 12:03:06 PM
Updated: 12/7/2004 1:59:40 PM
Reported by Jeannie Blaylock, Anchor
© 2004 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/n...x?storyid=28372
By Jeannie Blaylock
First Coast News
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
Created: 11/26/2004 12:03:06 PM
Updated: 12/7/2004 1:59:40 PM
Reported by Jeannie Blaylock, Anchor
© 2004 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/n...x?storyid=28372
Comments
the world is better without faces.
well... except in ok go's case. they all need faces.
well... except in ok go's case. they all need faces.
well if ok go has a face but you dont, you cant see their faces so its like they dont even have them. FACES FOR NO ONE
And I love these.
And I love these.
Very true, Emoticons represent our generation more than anything else.
And then see what my english teacher has to say.
or cheekbones?
how would that look?
poor girl...
That's an amazing way to look at the situation.
teh surgeon actually attached the face back onto her head. she has some pretty bad scars, but its AMAZING considering what she looked like after the accident
teh surgeon actually attached the face back onto her head. she has some pretty bad scars, but its AMAZING considering what she looked like after the accident
that's weird
i dont know where i saw it... but people were getting face implants to look like celebrities. not like that stupid mtv show. like... real implants that really look like them.
like...yeah celebrities are goodlooking, but im sure these ppl could be just as goodlooking if they had 83274817328 people working on MAKING them look good. and like...ok, get your nose done. but why do you have to look LIKE someone else? wouldnt you wnat to be hot on your own? like, uniquely hot?
On that subject of celeberities being good looking, most non-celeberities are incredibly hot, check out the post your picture thread, everyone there is hot, except for me of course
well since some people like to make light of such a condition with humorous lines dealing with the bands faces...
I thought Id post some photos of people who have to deal with this every day of their life, so that maybe something will click in the common sense part of your brain. capiche?
"how does she smell"
joke?
especially since her dad seemed to be very religious.
(its ok though, im already in the sixth ring of hell for being a nonbeliever.
even though im not atheist, im just a UU....
but thats what the online quiz said, so hey, join the club.)
anyways, i think that for me the most awful part wouldnt be getting made fun of.its sad, but eventually, she'll just accept it as a part of life.
What i would hate the most would be people not knowing how to act around me, and the pity of everyone. other than the face, she's going to be perfectly normal; people are going to treat her as though she can't ever do anything for herself.
and I'm right along with you, maybe on the 5th ring because I'm agnostic and I trip people, on accident of course.
especially since her dad seemed to be very religious.
(its ok though, im already in the sixth ring of hell for being a nonbeliever.
even though im not atheist, im just a UU....
but thats what the online quiz said, so hey, join the club.)
anyways, i think that for me the most awful part wouldnt be getting made fun of.its sad, but eventually, she'll just accept it as a part of life.
What i would hate the most would be people not knowing how to act around me, and the pity of everyone. other than the face, she's going to be perfectly normal; people are going to treat her as though she can't ever do anything for herself.
HA! A fellow Unitarian. Awesome! I wasn't aware that any others existed. Nobody knows about us. What quiz was this? I don't think you'll go to hell, Pandy. But this really isn't a joking matter. If you must make jokes, joke about priests in bars or something.