Stop Staring

Instead, give Rhian’s little boy a cheery wave

- Cher Heasmer/Ann Cusack

As my sons Koren, 8, and Kyle, 5, waved to me from the top of the slide, they giggled away.

I’d taken them to the local park for a bit of fresh air – and it was lovely seeing them have fun together.

But, just 10 minutes later, Koren ran over to the bench where I was sat.

‘Can I have my sunglasses?’ he asked.

It wasn’t exactly sunny out, but I handed them over.

I knew he didn’t want them to shade the sun. He wanted to hide his eyes.

And when I spotted a few kids staring at him and sniggering, I understood why.

Poor Koren was self conscious of his appearance.

See, he looks a bit different to other boys and girls.

Benign Tumours

Just two years ago, when Koren was 6, he was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis (NF).

It’s a condition that causes benign tumours to grow along the nerves.

It’s the same condition the Elephant Man was thought to have had before he was diagnosed with something else.

Koren has two tumours in his brain, as well as another one on his stomach.

But it’s the large one covering his right eye that affects him the most.

‘I wish it’d disappear,’ he tells me and his dad,Darren Jeffcoate, 42.

Darren and I noticed Koren was different when he was born.

He was covered in what are known as cafe au lait spots.

‘They’re just birthmarks, nothing to worry about,’ a nurse had told us. 

So we didn’t.

But when Koren was 2, Darren took him to get his hair cut, and the hairdresser noticed a bump on his head.

‘You should get that checked out,’ she’d advised.