Mom's Dedicated To Sharing Her Daughter's Rare Birthmark In A Beautiful Light

Apr 11, 2022 by apost team

Living in a world with fashion tips, diet tricks and social media is everywhere, it's important to remember that people come in all colors, shapes and sizes. We're all born to be our own unique selves. Some of us are born with blue eyes or brown hair, or special birthmarks. For a young baby girl, Winry Hall, it was a very rare birthmark with congenital melanocytic nevi or CMN. 

Winry's mother, Nicole Hall, initially thought her baby just had a bruise or large moles; however, they would later find out it was a rare birthmark, with research showing that the birthmark comes in small and large sizes.

Knowing the troubles her daughter might face with such a birthmark, the mother has been on a mission to change how the world views beauty. In an effort to bring awareness to Winry's case, her mom set up a social media page where they share updates on the baby's day-to-day life. Nicole has been an advocate and social media guru since her daughter's diagnosis, trying to show the world it's more than okay to be different. With almost 200,000 followers on Tiktok, Nicole has plenty of videos that will show you how happy a baby Winry is despite her rare birthmark.

According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the young baby's diagnosis could put her at a higher risk of developing melanoma later in life. The mom has told the world the diagnosis is not going to get her family down, and they work extra hard to protect the young girl's skin. 

Nicole opened up to Good Morning America about her mission to bring more awareness to Winry's condition. She said:

"For a lot of people, this is the first time seeing a birthmark like hers and that's part of why I enjoy sharing ... This is a good conversation for parents with their children to see kids have differences, or for those parents who do have a kid that looks like Winry or has any kind of a birthmark to see their child represented."

Alongside her TikTok, Nicole has an Instagram with over 72,000 followers where she shares photos and videos of Winry and her brother Asher in a bid to normalize CMN and other similar birthmarks. Incredibly, thanks to social media and Nicole's passion for sharing Winry's story — the family has been able to meet other kiddos just like Winry on the other side of the world. 

"We've got to talk to several people from Brazil with birthmarks," Nicole said. "One of them has one that is almost identical to Winry and it's been so fun to talk to her because she's almost exactly my age."

Nicole's focus has been on spreading awareness of CMN and connecting with others, which has kept her busy, but Winry's health is always the family's top priority. 

"Her health and happiness are our top priority. We have to monitor her with sunscreen. I'm careful with hats and that sort of thing," Nicole said. "I know our regular dermatology appointment is probably going to be our best friend growing up," she finished.

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Nicole told GMA that in the day-to-day of being a growing child, Winry is the epitome of a happy baby even despite the adversity she experiences. 

"She just radiates joy. She's almost always laughing or shrieking. She is just the happiest baby I have ever seen," her mom stated. "She's a big talker already. We haven't got a whole lot of words out, but she tells you like it is and she's already getting a little bit of sassiness, so I think we're gonna have a lot on our hands," Nicole said.

The doting mother spoke about the realities of Winry's elevated risk for melanoma but explained she monitors her closely and is careful with sunscreen and hats. She added that the biggest problem Winry will likely face in the next years could be her mental health. She said:

"Sadly, probably our bigger worry at this point is just going to be focusing on her mental health. People wondering about bullying and the kind of experiences she might have in her childhood. And honestly, I think just a lot of that comes from ignorance and not having seen this before."

She admitted that before she held her daughter in her arms she also hadn't seen a birthmark like Winry's either. She added:

"It doesn't upset me that others haven't seen it but I just wish that that were different. I really feel like the more you see these differences the more normalized they will be and continue to be. And so that's a big reason why we continue to share."   

How do you think Winry's mom, Nicole, is helping social media by sharing their story? If you know someone with something special about them, make sure to pass this along!