Juliana Wetmore.

[libertie]

Just wondering if anyone else saw the Channel 5 documentary last nigh about Juliana Wetmore the little American girl who suffers from Treacher Collins Syndrome. I found it incredibly touching and admit to watching most of it in tears. The love and dedication of her family, doctors and carers in looking after this brave little girl was inspiring, and certainly puts my everyday moans in perspective.

[Lindylou]

Poor little scrap!  I really hope we have updates on this story.  Reminded me of the 'Boy David' story that Desmond Wilcox did several years ago.

[libertie]

Yes Lindylou, I hope so too.  I can't help wondering though, what would happen to her if the US Navy was'nt footing her medical bills!

[Monarchs]

My own daughter suffers from Apert's Syndrome - she was born with a malformed head, face, hands and feet. She is now almost 28 years old and has Ian Jackson - The Boy David surgeon and adoptive dad - to thank for her quality of life, but it has been, and still is, extremely hard. Juliana's family are just beginning to realise that it gets harder as the child gets older and more aware of society's judgements of those who do not quite fit our idea of 'normal'. Repeated surgery is tough to bear and never quite being able to be like every other family takes its toll. My daughter has had huge emotional problems to contend with in coming to terms with who she is and learning to accept herself and be proud of what she has been able to achieve. My heart goes out to all the Wetmore family - in sympathy, empathy and hope. The saddest thing of all is that the people who most need to learn from programmes like Juliana's would have switched off after a few minutes.