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May 04, 2015

People Bashed Him for Having a Baby that Looks Like Him. It’s a Good Thing Her Parents Ignored It.



When Vicky met Simon five years ago in a sign language class, the last thing on her mind was falling in love. But fall in love she did, and the topic of having a child together came up. For the Moores, it was not the typical discussion.
Simon has Treacher Collins Syndrome (TC), which according to the Mirror:
…is characterised by craniofacial deformities such as the absence of cheekbones. He is also profoundly deaf and spent much of his childhood indoors to escape bullies.
Vicky already had three children and was sterilized afterward. For her to have another child it would have to be through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Opposing Views shares Vicky’s explanation of their decision process:
“We had to go through a year and a half of genetic counseling before we even decided to go ahead with trying for a baby. If there was an embryo with the TC gene, then the clinic would automatically destroy it, refusing to put any back that carried it. But we knew there was no guarantee how bad the TC would be, if the baby would have it at all.
It could have been as minor as a slight hearing problem, to being born with no face whatsoever. Ultimately, we didn’t care if our baby had TC. Simon has the ‘classic case’ and he’s amazing.”
Obtaining a loan for IVF from Simon’s mother, the couple had baby Alice, who also has TC.
Though her case is milder than her father’s, she also requires the use of a hearing aid. While her face is only mildly disfigured, she has a high palette, which affects her feeding times, and malformed ears.
Both father and daughter are subjected to pointing and cruel taunts from others, including baby Alice being called a gargoyle. Despite this, she is a very loved 18-month-old little girl.
According to the Mirror, her father says about her:
“I never wished for Alice not to have TC. Even though I grew up with all the problems and complications it really didn’t bother me either way whether she had it or not. We all knew if she had it that she’d be surrounded with people who loved her whatever.
There’s nothing on this planet anywhere near as special as Alice. She’s changed my life. There’s no doubt about it. She’s her dad’s little girl and I will tell her she is beautiful every day.”

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