About CMN Ambassador - Levi
When Levi was born, our midwife, nurses, and doctor had never seen a nevus and had no idea what the mark on his face was. Our first 24 hours as first-time parents were incredibly distressing as we waited for the doctor to return with answers. There is still a lot of heartache and grief surrounding those early days with Levi, and looking back, we often wonder how different that experience might have been if we had known then what we know now.
When Levi was just three months old, we attended our first Nevus Outreach conference. It was there that we finally began to feel the grip of that grief loosen. For the first time, we were surrounded by people who understood what we were experiencing and could help us see a future beyond the fear and uncertainty of those first few months.
As time went on, we realized that what brought us the most happiness and purpose was leaning into our reality and using our experience to raise awareness and advocate for the CMN community. We are now passionate advocates for those living with skin and facial differences, and we want other families to have the support and understanding that we wish we had when Levi was born.
Raising awareness is so important to us because the more people who understand CMN and are familiar with how it presents, the more likely they are to respond with acceptance rather than fear or uncertainty when they see someone with a nevus. The more inclusive and kind the world becomes toward those impacted by CMN, the easier it will be for them to navigate life with this condition—and the less alone families like ours will feel.
