Strawberry Hemangioma
I took Lydia to the doctor today. She’s doing really great. She’s gaining weight and developing very nicely. However, I was concerned about a bump on her head that showed up a few weeks ago and has grown instead of going away. It looks like a blood blister. The doctor told me she has a Strawberry Hemangioma. I, of course, immediately did some internet research the moment I got home. That may be a good thing…or a bad thing.
Here’s what I discovered (by asking my doctor questions and doing some internet research):
A Strawberry Hemangioma is a birthmark more commonly found in female babies with light skin. It’s a cluster of blood vessels and is technically a tumor…although it’s not cancerous. They grow and grow until they plateau and shrink. This could take seven to nine years. Fortunately, Lydia’s strawberry is on her head and not face. I was O.K. with all this information until I did a google image search of this condition and these birthmarks can get HUGE. You can go ahead and google image “strawberry hemangioma” to take a peek…but, it’s not pretty.
I’m soaking all this in. I’m glad it’s a minor thing and won’t affect her development. She’s so beautiful to me and will continue to be beautiful…even with a growth on her head. I’m not going to get worked up about the “maybes.” I don’t know how large this thing will grow, so I can’t let my mind go there. Plus, it’s on her head, so by the time it does subside, her hair will cover any residual scar. I guess my concern comes from what other people will say to her or about her. How big will it be when she’s in school and what will her peers say to her about it? I can’t ask myself those questions, yet. We’ll just have to wait and see and take it one day at a time.
Here’s a picture of Lydia with her “strawberry.” It’s still small right now. You’ll notice it on the top of her head:
