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Doctors carry out an emergency C-section – then panic when baby’s face starts to change

It’s only natural to feel nervous when you’re pregnant, especially if you’re expecting your first child.

If all goes well with the pregnancy and baby is in the right place you can look forward to meeting your healthy bundle of joy.

Jennie Wilklow, from Highland, New York, was looking forward to meeting her baby daughter. She’d had a healthy pregnancy and all tests showed she was having a healthy baby.

But when her daughter was delivered Jennie will never forget the shock of the hospital staff and the “scary” silence of her husband.

When Anna was born via emergency C-section at 34 weeks the delivery staff told Jennie she was beautiful.

“When they took her out, I heard her cry, and they said, ‘She is beautiful.’ Those are the words every mother wants to hear, so I smiled and relaxed,” Jennie told Cafe Mom.

As they took baby Anna behind a curtain to make sure everything was okay, Jennie sensed that something was wrong.

‘Open wounds all over her body’

Jennie was given more medicine to calm her and the next thing she knew she was out.

Anna was born with harlequin ichthyosis, a rare condition that causes thick plates of skin to form that then split and crack around their body, according to the First Skin Foundation. Staff at the hospital weren’t sure what they were dealing with at first.

“As they tried frantically to help her, her skin hardened within seconds (of birth). After hardening, it began to split, causing open wounds all over her body,” Jennie told Cafe Mom.

‘It’s bad’

When Jennie woke up her husband was there but didn’t answer when she asked if Anna was okay.

“My husband’s silence scared me; he just sat in shock as the doctor left, and I prodded for more info,” Jennie told Cafe Mom.

“He just kept saying, ‘It’s bad.’ What does that even mean? I thought in my head. He told me, ‘Jennie, I looked in her eyes, and she has the most beautiful soul.’”

The way an infant’s skin hardens in those that have this condition can cause their lips and eyelids to turn inside out or create a tightening around the chest that makes it difficult to breathe and eat.

Previously, those born with this condition would only survive a few days after birth but today many with this condition have survived into their 20s, as long as the condition isn’t severe.

Anna defied all odds

Doctors had told Jennie that Anna probably wouldn’t survive but against all the odds and having two loving and devoted parents who were determined their baby wouldn’t die, Anna survived.

“She was beauty in the purest form,” Jennie said.

But treating this kind of skin condition is not easy and to begin with Anna could only wear fleece pajamas.

“Every couple of hours I covered her with Vaseline and bathed her for many hours of the day. I had dreamed for years about the things my baby would wear, and though it seemed so trivial, it was what I struggled with most,” Jennie told Cafe Mom.

Jennie shows off her beautiful daughter on an Instagram page called harlequindiva.

It’s an account where Jennie is completely honest about the ups and downs of having a child with this condition to help raise awareness and to show how beautiful her Anna is.

“Anna captured everyone’s hearts because she is the purest form of perfection. Doing the work every day is simple when I’m doing it for her, and with every new accomplishment, the world celebrates with me,” Jennie told Cafe Mom.

She adds, “I now understand that I was given her because of the love I already carried in my heart for my daughter. Anna was meant for me, and I for her, and together we will show the world what true beauty is.”

Anna and her parents are truly beautiful souls and their unconditional love for each other shines through.

Please share this story to celebrate our differences and to send love and happiness to this family and their beautiful daughter!

 

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Justine Bateman defends decision to age naturally

It’s no secret that Hollywood stars, particularly women, feel pressure to keep up their looks as they get older. We constantly hear about the latest cosmetic procedures and routines the celebs are doing to stay young.

But some decide to just embrace their own natural looks and age gracefully, like Justine Bateman, who recently spoke out about her decision to not have work done despite societal pressures…

Justine Bateman is an actress, director and writer best known for playing Mallory in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties when she was a teenager.

She also starred in Men Behaving Badly and had recurring roles in shows like Desperate Housewives and Still Standing. She’s the older sister of actor Jason Bateman.

“I just don’t give a s—,” she said in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia. “I think I look rad. I think my face represents who I am. I like it.”

“I feel like I would erase, not only all my authority that I have now, but also, I like feeling that I am a different person now than I was when I was 20. I like looking in the mirror and seeing that evidence.”

Justine Bateman is now 57, and like many actresses of her age she has faced pressure to get plastic surgery — but instead, she has decided to never get any work done and embrace her age.

Bateman said she received insulting comments about her looks from the time she was 40, and people compared her naturally-aging face to a “sea hag” and a “meth addict.” She felt pressure to get cosmetic surgery or botox.

“I thought my face looked fine,” she told People in 2021. “And then because of some of the fears I had, unrelated to my face, I decided to make them right and me wrong… I became really ashamed of my face, ridiculously so.”

But eventually Bateman decided to ignore the criticisms about her looks and embrace natural aging. “You’re not going to make that fear go away by changing your face,” she said.

Flickr / Jim Ellwanger

“If you go and get plastic surgery, you’re going to look different. Okay. You’ll have that, but you haven’t dealt with what the fear was.

“That fear will continue… I think getting all this plastic surgery is just people pleasing.”

The actress, who previously wrote about this issue in her book Face: One Square Foot of Skin, said she feels “sad” for women preoccupied with cosmetic procedures and hopes they will embrace their natural beauty.

“I feel sad that they’re not just enjoying life,” she told 60 Minutes. “I feel sad that they are distracted from the things that they’re meant to do in life with this consuming idea that they’ve got to fix their face before anything else can happen.”

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

We think Justine Bateman looks beautiful! No one should feel pressure to change the way they look — thank you to Justine Bateman for encouraging more women to age naturally.

Please share this story if you agree with Justine Bateman!

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Bob comes home drunk one night, slids into bed beside wife

After a night of too much fun, Bob found himself in an unexpected situation —standing before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates.

But instead of accepting his fate, he struck a deal to return to life… as a chicken. What followed was a feathery, egg-laying experience he never saw coming.

Stumbled into bed

Bob had a habit of enjoying his evenings a bit too much, and one night was no exception. He stumbled into bed late, slipping in quietly beside his peacefully sleeping wife. Unbeknownst to him, the night held more surprises than he could ever imagine.

As dawn broke, Bob didn’t wake up in his familiar bedroom but instead found himself standing before the majestic Pearly Gates.

“Am I dreaming?” he wondered aloud.

St. Peter, with a clipboard in hand, greeted him warmly.
“Bob, I’m afraid you passed away in your sleep.”

Bob’s jaw dropped.
“This can’t be! I’m not ready to go. I’ve got so much to live for!”

St. Peter, empathizing with his plight, offered a solution.
“Well, there is one way you can return—but only as a chicken.”

Bob, desperate to get back to life, reluctantly agreed. Before he could protest further, he was instantly transported to a nearby farm, now covered in feathers and clucking involuntarily.

Clucking Confusion

Bob, adjusting to his new reality as a hen, was greeted by a rather smug rooster.
“Well, well, look who’s new in the coop! How’s it going, hen?”

Bob hesitated, still bewildered by the situation.
“Not bad, but I’ve got this weird pressure inside me. I feel like I’m about to burst!”

The rooster chuckled.
“Ah, you’re ovulating. Don’t tell me you’ve never laid an egg before!”

Bob, wide-eyed, shook his feathery head.
“Never.”

“Well, it’s easy,” said the rooster. “Just relax and let nature take its course.”

After a moment of hesitation, Bob gave it a try. To his astonishment—and a bit of discomfort—out came an egg. Overcome with emotion, Bob felt the unexplainable joy of motherhood. He laid another egg, then another. Just as he was about to lay his third, a sharp smack to the back of his head jolted him awake.

“Bob! Wake up!” his wife hollered. “You’re drunk again and pooping in the bed!”

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Scientists discover a way to stop cancer by turning on a “kill switch” in the body

Scientists at UC Davis have found a new way to fight cancer using a receptor called CD95, or Fas. This receptor, which was not widely used in cancer treatments before, can act as a “kill switch” to make cancer cells self-destruct. Their discovery, published in Cell Death & Differentiation, could lead to new and more effective treatments.

CD95 receptors, also known as death receptors, help control cell self-destruction, a process called apoptosis. These receptors are on the surface of cells and, when triggered, start a chain reaction that leads to the cell dying. While they are important for keeping the body’s cells balanced, these receptors could also be used in cancer treatment, which has not been fully studied until now.

Jogender Tushir-Singh, an associate professor at ,UC Davis, and his team worked to understand how the Fas receptor could help treat cancer. Through their research, they found a part of the Fas receptor that causes cells to die. This discovery is an important step forward in cancer research, opening up new possibilities for treatment.

One major challenge in cancer treatment is when cancer cells become resistant to treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. Immunotherapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy, show promise but are less effective against solid tumors. The discovery of the Fas epitope could prevent cells from escaping treatment by causing them to self-destruct.

Targeting Fas in cancer treatment could have wide-reaching benefits. This method not only provides a new way to fight resistance to current therapies but also improves the effectiveness of existing immunotherapies. By using Fas to trigger cell death, researchers hope to create more targeted, effective, and personalized cancer treatments.

Hope for the Future

While this discovery is exciting, turning it into a treatment for patients will take time and effort. More research is needed to figure out the best ways to target different types of cancer. There will also be a lot of testing and clinical trials to ensure the treatment is safe before it can be used on people.

The path to using Fas in cancer treatment will require teamwork from researchers, doctors, and industry partners. By working together, we can bring real benefits to cancer patients around the world.

As Fas opens the door to a new era of cancer therapy, there is new hope for patients and families affected by the disease. With continued dedication, innovation, and collaboration, we can turn the dark reality of cancer treatment into something hopeful and move closer to a future where cancer is no longer life-threatening.

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