Bearing a Mark of Joy: A Mother's Courageous Act to Shield Her Child from Ridicule_Lt
Enzo Cstari is one year old this year, born with a dark birthmark that covers most of her forehead and extends to one side of her nose.However, the baby’s mother, Carolina Giraldelli, 26, from Cáeres, Brazil, swore she would never have to hide the birthmark, just to be sure her son was perfect.
“I confess that it was a very tiring and difficult time for me and my son when I always felt the eyes of society watching and whispering things that I myself knew were not good, good at all! The looks of pity, contempt, fear and sometimes disgust are always directed at us!” Giraldelli said. “Although this is not an easy thing to accept, my husband and I have decided to act normal and act normal, despite our words. We just want to give our son strength, so that he can always believe in himself and move on.”
“When someone feels disturbed, curious or scared just by looking at the birthmark on our son’s face, we always try to make him understand that despite the birthmark on his face, he is still a normal boy who can play, make friends, give and receive love from everyone just like other children.”
On a special occasion for her son, she asked her friend, a makeup artist, to paint her face with a birthmark that looked exactly like Enzo’s.
She hopes that this way she can better understand the prejudices her son has been facing and it has taken her by surprise. “After the makeup was done, I was really surprised and touched because I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world,” Giraldelli shared. ”When I got home, Enzo’s reaction was pure joy and happiness, even though he didn’t fully understand everything.
After taking photos to capture this beautiful moment, I went to work with makeup on.
Everyone looked at me differently, but I remained calm because I felt like the proudest mother in the world,” Giraldelli said.
Giraldelli gave birth by cesarean section and gave birth to Enzo in May 2017, when she saw the baby’s umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice, Giraldelli revealed that at first she thought the birthmark was just “a bit of dirt”, but when she realized it was a birthmark, she cried and was only grateful that the baby was born healthy.
She knew from that point on she needed to become stronger, courageous and brave to help her son overcome the obstacles he might face growing up. After sharing a picture of herself “carrying” a birthmark on her face on social media, Giraldelli was overwhelmed by countless supportive comments. “The words of comfort, encouragement and encouragement to my son have been so many and I have been so happy and overwhelmed by those comments. I believe countless mothers will have similar feelings when they see pictures of me with my son,” Giraldelli shared.