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June is Apert Syndrome awareness month, and we wanted to raise awareness of the condition and remind everyone that behind the face is a heart.

Our 2 year old daughter, Margot, was born with Apert Syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes fusion of the skull, hands and feet. However, she have never let this hold her back! She is a funny, very loving and sociable little girl.

Margot has had many scans, appointments, tests, and in the past year, has had 3 major surgeries on her hands and feet. Margot is an inspiration to everyone she meets, and her determination to overcome barriers, even after major surgeries, is admirable and we are all so proud of her.

Margot deals with a lot of stares and children asking us “why does she have such a weird face?”, “why is her head so big”, “why are her hands like that?”. We’d like to take this month to remind parents to teach your children that looking “different” is ok, and although there may be visual differences, they deserve kindness too. We would love for parents to approach us with their children and introduce themselves to Margot, asking us why her hands may look different, and we’d be so happy to explain why. We’ve found that as soon as children understand the difference, they accept it and move on. All children deserve to be able to go to the park and play without worrying what others think of them.

As a family, it’s been really tough watching Margot go through surgeries and recovery. Without our support network of other families going through similar situations, we’d find things much more difficult. The Headlines charity supports families with craniofacial differences get through these tough times. By giving to our charity, you will be funding days out for children with craniofacial differences. We really appreciate any donations as we know just how much these days are needed for the children and families involved.