BROOKE, 34, and her partner Kewene, 28, from Queensland, Australia, recently hit the headlines as they made the controversial decision to have their baby's face lasered. When Brooke's baby Kingsley arrived, he was born with a birthmark covering half of his face. Brooke told Truly: "Instantly the moment he was born they knew it was a birthmark, but they didn't know what type yet. Then they got confirmation that day that it was a Port Wine Stain birthmark and we found out about the Sturge-Weber Syndrome." With this distressing news, the couple started Googling what this could mean for Kingsley's future. After finding out how this could affect Kingsley's life, they made the incredibly difficult decision to laser Kingsley's face at only five months old. The family then decided to raise awareness for the condition and shared their story online, however the hate they received was a real shock. Brooke said: "One person told me to put my child down, others said: 'you're an abusive parent, you shouldn't be doing this to your child', that we were 'horrible people and shouldn't have kids'... So that hurt a little bit." Despite the tirade of online judgement and hate the family received, they knew they made the correct decision for their son and still stand by it today. They added: "We'll keep spreading awareness for our son's condition, keep going up from here and just making sure our children have the best life."
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00:00We get hate because we lasered our baby's face.
00:03Instantly, the moment he was born,
00:05we got the confirmation that it was a port wine stain birthmark.
00:08He had his first laser treatment when he was five months old.
00:12I felt like I needed to put my son's story out there.
00:16One person told me to put my child down.
00:18Other people say you're an abusive parent
00:21and you shouldn't be doing this to your child.
00:24That hurt a little bit.
00:26Have you ever regretted your decision
00:27to get treatment for Kingsley at such a young age?
00:32Um...
00:35Oh, where are you going?
00:37Hey, hey!
00:40My pregnancy with Kingsley was smooth sailing
00:43right up until we had him.
00:44There was nothing to alert us that anything was wrong.
00:49If you want to sit up, you can.
00:50Mummy's just got to put this on.
00:52Ready?
00:54Wow.
00:55Instantly, the moment he was born,
00:58they knew it was a birthmark,
01:00but we didn't know what type yet.
01:03And then we got the confirmation that day
01:05that it was a port wine stain birthmark.
01:08And then, obviously, later on,
01:10we found out about the Sturge-Weber syndrome.
01:13When we started Googling,
01:15that's when I started getting concerned
01:16because of the type of birthmark it was
01:18and the pictures that are in Google Images
01:21scared the hell out of us.
01:23So it would affect his eyesight.
01:25It could be linked to Sturge-Weber syndrome,
01:28which then would be neurological issues.
01:32Ooh, ooh, ooh.
01:35There's also the complications in the future
01:38with the port wine stain birthmark itself,
01:41where it can develop growths, vascular blebs,
01:44where it can bleed out and the face becomes disportioned.
01:48Yeah, there's a lot of complications.
01:50Yeah, there was quite a few issues.
01:53He had his first laser treatment
01:55when he was five months old.
01:57It was probably one of the most difficult decisions
01:59I've ever had to make.
02:03Absolutely scared.
02:04I was, as a parent,
02:08it was one of the hardest things
02:10that I've ever had to kind of go into.
02:14I couldn't stay in the room.
02:16I actually left the room,
02:17whereas dad was in there with him.
02:19But everything in me just broke.
02:22Did Kingsley need to have laser surgery?
02:24There are a lot of parents that choose not to.
02:28A lot of people think we're gonna give,
02:30like, let our child make that decision when they're older.
02:33Have you ever regretted your decision
02:34to get treatment for Kingsley at such a young age?
02:42During, during the process, yeah.
02:44We have, yeah.
02:46We had moments when he was crying
02:48that, like, we were like,
02:49we don't want to do this again.
02:51And, like, by the fourth one,
02:53it was kind of like, do we go again or not?
02:57Yeah, the whole thing was difficult.
02:58But would we regret it?
03:00Absolutely not.
03:02We didn't want to wait.
03:03We wanted to do it then and there,
03:05and then he won't remember.
03:07It'd be a lot more stressful when he's older
03:09than when he was a baby.
03:11After the laser treatment had stopped,
03:13and it looked really painful.
03:14I feel like it looked worse
03:17than how he felt,
03:19because he was fine afterwards.
03:20He was happy.
03:22Yeah.
03:23Are you sharing?
03:29When Kingsley was born,
03:31and we were really kind of taken back with everything,
03:33we had no clue what this was.
03:36I felt like I needed to put my son's story out there
03:41to spread awareness around it.
03:42You have been asking on my son's birthmark
03:45and the year of hell that we have had.
03:47If it's not a birthmark, then what is it?
03:50He has what they call Sturge-Weber syndrome.
03:54I had a lot of other parents of Port Weinstein children
03:57just come up to me and, like,
03:59message me and thank me,
04:01and be like, thank you for sharing your story.
04:03This means a lot to my child.
04:04I had a lot of families say, like,
04:06this has helped me, made my decision easier.
04:09Then I had the negative side.
04:12One person told me to put my child down.
04:14Other people say, you're an abusive parent
04:17and you shouldn't be doing this to your child.
04:20That we were horrible people.
04:22We shouldn't have kids.
04:24Social welfare should come take our children.
04:27He should make the decision for himself when he's older.
04:30Yeah, there was a few hurtful comments.
04:32And at the beginning, it used to get to me a lot.
04:34But I chose, rather than react, to educate them.
04:38And if they don't want to be educated, to block.
04:45Hi, Ellen.
04:47Hello.
04:47How are you?
04:49Good, thank you.
04:50Our families were, they supported us
04:52to have the, to decide on doing laser for him.
04:57What are you doing?
04:59Yes.
05:00Who's that? Is that Nanny?
05:01You want to go to Nanny?
05:02When I heard that Kingsley was getting laser surgery,
05:05I knew that it was for his best interest.
05:08I know his parents are doing the best they can
05:11and what's best for him.
05:13And it's when he goes to school.
05:16It's all those things.
05:17People can be pretty cruel.
05:20People don't know the real story.
05:23They only just see things written up.
05:26But they actually don't know the reasons behind it.
05:29Worst thing that we would have had said is,
05:32just saying that like, I'm a horrible mum.
05:35We're child abusers.
05:37Just the abuser part really kind of got to me.
05:40Because, you know, we love and care for our kids.
05:43So that hurt a little bit.
05:49He's smiling.
05:52I just feel they judge people.
05:55But you're always going to get that.
05:56I would have made that decision to have him late,
05:59have the laser treatment without a doubt.
06:01How do you feel about the way he looks now?
06:04I feel like he's always looked great.
06:06Like it's still there.
06:07His birthmark is always going to be there.
06:09It's just purely to make the skin healthier
06:13and obviously in the same time, it is going to lighten it.
06:17But he's beautiful.
06:18I love him.
06:19I love him.
06:20I think he's got a beautiful little head.
06:21Remember, people are always going to give you criticism,
06:24especially if you put out there online.
06:25But don't take it in too much.
06:28Don't take it to heart.
06:29Make decisions based on the best choices
06:32you think of for your children.
06:33What does the future hold for you as a family?
06:35Keep spreading awareness for our son's conditions.
06:38Yeah, just keep going up from here, I guess.
06:41And educating ourselves and just making sure
06:44our children have the best life.