Greer's "Beauty Mark"

So, one of the reasons that I wanted to start this blog is to chronicle the progress of treatments for Greer's Port-wine Stain (PWS as I will call it for the sake of time).   A PWS (or naevus flammeus) is a vascular birthmark consisting of superficial and deep dilated capillaries in the skin which produce a reddish to purplish discoloration of the skin.  It is part of the family of disorders known as vascular malformations.  They are present at birth and persist throughout life.  The don't just go away (as many people assume and like to tell me all the time).  The area of skin affected grows in proportion to general growth.  They occur most often on the face, but can be anywhere on the body.  As the child matures, the color may deepen to a dark red or purplish color.  In adulthood, thickening of the lesion or the development of small lumps may occur.  This is why treatment is so important...especially early treatment.  We are blessed to live in Birmingham and have a great doctor who specializes in PWS treatment.  Greer will receive laser surgery treatments every 8 weeks or so for quite a while (early estimates are 10 + treatments) before she reaches a maintenance stage.  Her first treatment will be next Tuesday, and as you can imagine, we are very anxious.  The treatments are painful (like bee stings or rubber bands popping), and she can't receive anesthesia till 6 months of age.  We will most likely have 2 treatments without general anesthesia.  The treatments will take 5-10 minutes, so they are really quick, but we want her to be as comfortable as possible.  The treatments cause lots of bruising over the stain, and it can look pretty gruesome.  We expect the bruising to last a couple of weeks after each treatment.  The funny thing is....the more bruising, the better the results.  Don't worry though, once the treatment is over, she won't be in pain.  I hear that it can be a bit itchy for a few days, but lotion will help that.  Please continue to pray for her and us.  I know that God made her special for a reason, but I also feel blessed to have the medical resources that we have.  We pray for some great fading, but love her no matter what.  She is absolutely gorgeous with or without her "beauty mark".  Actually, it will be hard to see it go away....it is such a part of who she is.  Also (and almost most importantly), please pray for her continued health and that the signs and symptoms of Sturge-Weber Syndrome don't present.  This is a syndrome associated with facial PWS and it can take some time to completely rule it out.  So far so good, and most likely we will be in the clear if no symptoms occur in this first year(such as seizures, glaucoma, and developmental delays ).  We will keep you updated on that as well.  We feel blessed to have such a special child, and we look forward to educating people.  We have already had many opportunities to explain her "big red mark" (that's what almost every kid calls it).  This is the best picture I have of it, and fortunately, it doesn't show up too much in pictures.  It is actually a bit darker in person, but it also depends on the weather and her mood (cold weather and fits of rage cause it to be dark purple!).  All the best to you, and again....keep the prayers coming!!!