Turner Syndrome—named after Dr. Henry Turner, occurs in 1 out of 2,000 female births, linked to cause of 10% of miscarriages, genetic chromosomal condition, cause and prevention-unknown, short in stature, intelligent but struggle with math and science skills, low hairline, finger and toenails curve upwards, broad chest, swelling of hands/feet in infancy, webbed neck, ovarian failure, cardiac and kidney abnormalities, hypo-thyroid disorders, frequent ear infections, higher risk of celiac disease, vision impairment, and…well, that’s enough for now, don’t you think?
Hopeless…hardly. An inconvenience? At times. Fatal? Can be if you ignore it. A Curse? No, a disguised blessing. For you see…my sweet little real baby doll, Kellie, had Turner Syndrome.
She was so cute when she was a preschooler that one man in our church nicknamed her Cupie Doll because of her huge brown eyes and lack of hair. Another man named her Mug-Wamp, which had no meaning whatsoever other than he thought she was the cutest little Indian in the world…even though she was half Cuban. Kellie captivated everyone’s attention. Her stage was a shopping cart at Target as she entertained anyone that would watch her. Kellie was Shirley Temple all over again because of her ability to sing and dance before perfect strangers; completely uninhibited. Her style and giggle was contagious as I’d watch her force the biggest stone face to crack into a smile.
God allowed me the privilege to have someone like Kellie in my life. How did I get to be so blessed? For at times she taught me far more than I signed up for. Her diagnoses challenged me to learn about a syndrome I had never heard of. However, back in the mid-1980’s knowledge and support were not as accessible as it is today. We didn’t even know what an information highway was. So eventually my family decided to forget the hard facts. Ignorance seemed bliss. Acceptance was just too hard and complicated. More next week…
Please take a moment to become familiar with the national society for Turner’s Syndrome through the web site below. Ignorance is not bliss. http://www.turnersyndrome.org/index.html
“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.” Proverbs 3:13-14
