'We cry, pick ourselves up and move on': Mother of son born with ‘no eyes’ takes on sick trolls
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: A mother of an 11-year-old boy born with no eyes from Tennessee reveals the bittersweet symphony of the hideous trolling they have faced throughout their journey as she fights to rise above it. Christian Buchanan was born with amniotic band syndrome, which is when strands of tissue wrap around the developing fetus.
Christian was born with facial clefts, which have affected his eyes, lips, and nose, as well as developmental delays and blindness. Sadly apart from his physical uniqueness, his family and his parents Lacey and Chris, explain they have faced horrifying scorns online and offline from strangers, and in spite of it the brave parents urge they want to raise awareness about their child's condition and show people that the world is also a place for disabled people.
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"Someone commented on one of my TikTok videos that I should have aborted him and that I have no concern for his suffering," Lacey told NTK. "The prejudice has happened offline too; when Christian was a baby, someone asked to see him but when they looked over into his car seat to do so, gasped and jumped back as if he was going to hurt them," she said. "I hate that he's had to struggle but I try not to dwell on it, because that doesn't do any of us any good."
Since Christian’s birth, he has had 12 surgeries and cleft repairs. The mother of the 11-year-old says, she doesn't want him to "feel sorry for himself, to think he can't do something. So even on the hard days, we just cry if we need to, pick ourselves up and keep moving forward." Lacey who works as an attorney says, she wants to raise awareness of Christian's difficulties and especially his loss of sight.
Lacey says when Christian was born they did not expect their life would change, they weren't prepared for it. They had an idea of pregnancy but it was nothing like that. "It was hospitals and medical equipment and doctors and not at all what we expected or wanted," reports Mirror. She says due to his complications he did not walk until he was three years old. Christian still attends physical and speech therapy every week and has to eat via a feeding tube. He will continue to repair his cleft symptoms as he grows and matures.
Christian is aware he does not appear like everyone else but his parents are "extremely careful to always make sure he knows that that isn't a bad thing". Lacey says, "she always feels grief over the fact that Christian cannot see her or describe to him the beauty of a sunset." Christian has been playing the violin for the last five years and his parents have signed him up for Miracle League baseball, a US league specifically for people with disabilities. Christian is also older than his nine-year-old brother Chandler, who is his "best friend" and he relies on him as a companion.
Lacey has been sharing Christian’s story online since he was born, in a bid to teach others about his condition and fight against ableism. She said, "There are people out there who actually think disabled people shouldn't even be allowed to live, and at a minimum, shouldn't have the rights the rest of us deserve.” Despite online bullies, Lacey says she will continue to post about her son. The mother also explains when trolls tend to take hold of her, she sets them straight. Lacey said, "If I've just run out of patience, I'll tell them exactly how horrible of a human they are and how their response to my child is intolerable, ableist, and unacceptable." She remarks, "Disabled people are here, they exist, and they will have a place at the table as long as I am around to fight for it."