Dec 18 2013
Lets face it.
Chris Spivey & The Daily Chimpanzee
I can totally empathise with Zara Greens heartache and anxiety she felt for her daughter Connie – a child born with a very common hemangioma, a kind of benign tumour.
Hemangioma’s are also known as a Nevus – much more user friendly.
You see, my daughter Stacey was born with one and it is horrifying to watch what looked like a small scratch grow and grow into a massive tumour.
My Stacey’s Nevus was in fact much, much bigger than Zara Greens daughter Connie, albeit the position of Connies couldn’t really be much worse than it is appearance wise.
However, Stacey’s was on her cheek and was so large that when viewing her profile from the left you were unable to see her nose for the Nevus.
It did in fact grow so big that it twisted her mouth and was in danger of damaging her eye. At that point she was put on steroids which meant a weekly journey up to Great Ormond Street hospital in London.
Photo: Stacey approximately 8 months old and on steroids
Now, as I say, Nevus’s are very common but can grow anywhere on a baby’s body (they are more common in premature babies) and to varying sizes – some very small and flat. Others very big and and prominent.
However, unless like Staceys and Connies they grow on the face, it is only the immediate family who are aware of them.
Sadly, apart from cosmetic surgery there is no treatment for these abnormalities of the blood vessels except for steroids sometimes given to halt a large tumours growth but which Doctors are very reluctant to give to babies for obvious reasons.
Having said that, many Nevus’s go on their own as the child gets older, leaving a barely noticeable darker circle of skin in its place.
Unfortunately, the bigger lumps have to be surgically removed as was the case with Connie and my Stacey, when they were around the age of 10 or 11.
Stacey did in fact have to have 4 operations to remove hers – three to remove the tumour and one for laser surgery to remove the colour.
Photo: Stacey after her 3rd operation.
The reason for the three ops was because if the Plastic Surgeon had removed the tumour in one go, it would have left the lower left side of Stacey’s face paralysed and with a massive scar to boot.
However, by removing it in three, the surgeon was able to prevent any paralysis and leave a much smaller scar which travels along the natural line of her face that you see when she smiles.
This makes the scar barely detectable unless you know it is there.
So, fair to say then that the Great Ormond Street Surgeon did a fantastic job on my daughter’s face.
Photo: Stacey and my older daughter Carioline (different mother to stacey) before the final laser surgery
Unfortunately, I do have a couple of serious gripes with the hospital, which I won’t talk about now since they are not really relevant to the story in so much as the gripes relate to faults on the hospitals part.
And besides, I don’t want to detract from the brilliant job they did on her face and the overall care Gt Ormond St Hospital gave us over 13 years.
Photo: Stacey pre-school
However, though no one wants to see their child have to go through the trauma of an operation, it is the first ten or eleven years of Connies life of which I can empathise the most with Zara Green.
You see, I too was worried about how Stacey would be treated at school as children can be very cruel… Although adults can be worse.
For this reason I didn’t send Stacey to play school until she was four and only then because it was connected to the small primary school I had managed to get her into (it was out of our catchment area).
Fortunately, Rochford is quite a small place and with me being a Tattoo Artist I was very well known anyway.
Photo: Stacey first day at school
I was also very protective of Stacey, and never shied away from people who quite often gawped at her in horror.
I had no problem with people who were upfront and asked me what that Monster was that was growing over Staceys face.
But Cunts who I would often catch looking at her in horror I would take to task.
Therefore, as a result of those three factors, Stacey didn’t really have any problems at school, but it didn’t stop me worrying about her and fearing for her future as she got older – as obviously I didn’t know about the smashing job that the the surgeon would perform a few years down the line.
Now, like Zara, I was also given information about the charity ‘Saving Faces’, but I am not one for support groups and didn’t join.
Having said that, many people do not have the advantages that I had to allow me to cope with a child with a facial disfigurement and as such I believe that the charity does a fantastic job for both the children – many, many who are cruelly facially disfigured with no hope of improvement – and parents who need a support network.
So, the next time that you are feeling down, Google Saving Faces. The smiles on the faces of these disfigured children is truly humbling and uplifting at the same time.
They will also put your day to day troubles into perspective. .. Dog bless them all.
Photo: You would never know it had been there
‘I was terrified she’d be asked to play Rudolph in the school play’: Mother’s relief after surgery to remove her daughter’s birthmark is successful
- Connie Lloyd, now five, was born with a bright red birthmark on her nose
- Doctors diagnosed the mark as hemangioma – a benign tumour
- Mother Zara says her daughter was constantly being commented on and would have her nose poked by other children
- Connie has now had the birthmark successfully removed
PUBLISHED: 15:29, 18 December 2013 | UPDATED: 15:57, 18 December 2013
Most parents look forward to seeing their child perform in a school Christmas play, but for one mother, it was a source of fear.
Zara Green, whose daughter Connie was born with a bright red birthmark on her nose, said she
had dreaded the possibility of her being asked to play Rudolph.
Fortunately, an operation to remove the large red growth was successful.

Miss Green, 27, a former care worker, said: ‘When she was a baby I wondered whether the part of Rudolph would always be set aside for Connie in her Christmas plays.
‘I imagined well-meaning teachers and parents asking us year after year whether she would like the part.
More…
‘Connie would have hated that kind of attention. At pre-school she had to be brave while the other children asked about her differences.
‘Today, I’m left wondering what Connie’s school life would have been like if she hadn’t had the surgery. Would she have felt comfortable? Would she have found it easy to make friends?’
Miss Green, of Slough, Berkshire, fought for Connie to have surgery to remove the red growth at a young age, despite doctors warning her that Connie would not be eligible for the procedure until she turned ten.

She said: ‘We noticed the birthmark just after she was born. At first we assumed it was a pressure mark from the delivery.
‘After two weeks, the growth had darkened in colour and had become lumpy. We were told it was a regular birthmark which would disappear of its own accord eventually.’
Miss Green sought a second opinion at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital, where specialists diagnosed the mark as hemangioma – a benign tumour – in and around Connie’s nostrils.
Connie was prescribed medication to halt the spread of the growth and a consultant advised that she would be able to undergo surgery to remove it completely when she turned ten years old.
Miss Green said that her daughter told her at 18 months old that she didn’t like her nose and she wanted one like her mother’s.

‘It was very difficult to hear. As her mother I wanted to do everything I could for her’, she said.
Negative reactions at pre-school eventually prompted Miss Green, her partner and Connie’s father Tom Lloyd, 26, a mechanic, to pursue options for removing the birthmark.
‘Children in Connie’s playgroup were curious and sometimes they would prod at her nose. She found it very upsetting,’ Miss Green said.
‘The school photographer even asked me whether I would like Connie’s birthmark airbrushed out of the final class picture. I found it offensive. Connie was who she was, and we loved every bit her of her.
‘But I started to think about Connie going through her school years, dealing with those kinds of reactions at every turn.

‘We found the charity Saving Faces who put us in touch with Professor Iain Hutchison. We had a consultation with him within two weeks of getting in touch. It all happened amazingly quickly.’
Connie was approved for NHS funding worth £2,000 and underwent the surgery in March 2011, shortly before the birth of her little brother Archie, 2.
Connie’s nose is continuing to heal but she has not experienced any problems fitting into Reception Class at Stoke Poges Primary School.
Miss Green said Connie is no longer subjected to insensitive reactions and has developed into a lively, confident schoolgirl who enjoys taking selfies.

She said: ‘Connie’s Christmas play was last week and she played a cat as part of a large group of friends who were also playing cats. People don’t associate her with a birthmark at all now.
‘She’s developed a huge amount of confidence. The change has been incredible – she’s almost a completely different girl. She’s not shy in the slightest.
‘She has loads of friends and loves going to class.
Miss Green said that while surgery can be daunting for parents but she had to think of Connie’s future long-term.
‘If I’d had left it to the doctors who suggested we didn’t go for surgery, Connie’s life would have been completely different.
‘I’m so glad we did. We have no regrets at all.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2525827/Child-bright-red-nose-spared-playing-Rudolph-school-play-thanks-surgery.html#ixzz2nqjCsolk
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December 18, 2013 @ 8:06 pm
and that what makes you the man you are (and family) you tell it how it is
December 18, 2013 @ 8:07 pm
Thanks for sharing your story Chris. Your daughter is a beautiful young lady and you can be proud!
December 18, 2013 @ 8:29 pm
Heart warming to see that both young ladies have come through this and have a normal life without the stares of people that are too stupid to realise that they are gawping. There are American doctors that routinely go to the Philippines each year to provide their services free of charge and perform similar facial surgery and I admire them for that.
My wife is a Filipina and before we met, she had a son that developed a tumour on his nose which continued to grow. The family did not have the money for continuing the treatment and eventually the little boy passed away in his grandads arms. He was 3. We light a candle each year on his birthday.
Stacey is a beautiful young lady Chris and I am chuffed to bits for both of you. Must have been a tough time fella.
December 18, 2013 @ 8:30 pm
Ok,after getting over the shock of seeing you looking a bit less scary,and with hair 😉 ,an article to warm the cockles of your heart!! Well done Chris,you should be proud!
Now,on a serious note,thank fuck she is not her dads double!!! ( ok, me bad ) soz!
Sending you a kiss!
x
December 18, 2013 @ 8:52 pm
I must add Chris,your kids give you hope,yet you can only despair at the way things are.
My boy has just turned 14. He just seen me typing and said , ” Dad,are you on Chris Spiveys site again? ” “yes” i said! “cool” he said!
Now,he is not daft and i have gone through a couple of articles with him,and several other things including 9/11 but it is a hard one.How old is old enough to be told some things are not what they seem? And how much should you tell them? I swear,it brings tears to my eyes sometimes!
December 18, 2013 @ 9:30 pm
teerev, i gently feed bits to my daughter’s friends and tell them to investigate for themselves. The Georgia Guidestones is a good place to start. When they read the following, ask how they think that figure could be reached:
Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
Then mention:
Vaccines, Chemtrails, Fluoride, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Aspartame etc. They will come up with some others in due time! They have to know about this IMHO
December 18, 2013 @ 10:32 pm
I just wanted to add my tuppence in what I have been doing for the past three or so years with my two kids is giving them titbits of information then may want some more info or not bothered or interested in certain subjects, my two kids are 15 &19 years old Like Dogman said he feeds them bits to his daughters friends…………………. though I would not unless their the older one’s friends and that’s If they bring up anything ,yet I am surprised in how much they know as until four years or so ago I was really asleep to all this not oblivious to the PTB or the what, who.why and how long it has gone on for,that day I had a massive wake up call ,all at once and to this day has shocked me out off the dream state where I was happier to be than this fucking nightmare I am in now, though have had many psychic and paranormal experiences all my life and If I never had any I would have been a nutter like Johnny in the Shinning, hahaha. i’m told and still telling my kids about all this as and when and so they can keep on having a snooze after ward’s rather than SHOCKED to DEATH nearly, by all that noise and sudden ringing of the alarm bells going off.
December 18, 2013 @ 10:48 pm
Dogman,It’s funny you should say that!!! I only found about the georgia guidestones yesterday,thanks to your good self i must say!
I have been going through articles on here for the last few weeks since i found this site and you mentioned them in a comment with the link http://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-the-georgia-guidestones/
Sure it was you! lol ?
Anyway,my boy sure is not slow coming forward,everything is who,what,how and why! I posted a comment a comment on
http://www.chrisspivey.co.uk/give-it-a-fucking-rest/ the other day under teerev but used the wrong email address without thinking! I have 2,one for crap,which i use 95% of the time,and one i use for important stuff, ( the one i use here which is my short name by the way ).
In that post i mentioned my german gran who my boy met for the first time about 18 months ago.She lives in the north of Scotland,we live in west cornwall! She is about 90 odd now,my grandad passed a few years ago but she still lives by herself.My grandad spent some time in the navy during the end of the war,but ended up as a reme in the army until he retired.They were both in iran when the shah was deposed in 1979 along with my uncle.Oh the tales that lady has! And my boy was like a sponge!! My mum spent time in hong kong as child when they were posted over there.My dad met my mum while they were stationed in germany in the 60’s.
NOW, if you have any old family left,talk to them and ask them what was what when they were young! You would be suprised. I was a cook in in charge at a nursing home for 4 and a half years and i gotta tell ya some of these people will tell you stuff that will make you realize what you can put up with in times of despair!!
Regards,and love to all
Teerev!x
December 18, 2013 @ 8:41 pm
you’re so right chris about feeling sorry for oneself over trivial things. its like the old saying. ‘i felt sorry for myself because i had no shoes until i saw a man who had no feet ‘ theres always someone worse of. glad it worked out for stacy in the end but of course it would have been better if it hadnt happened in the first place, another reason i;m an atheist but better not get into that.
December 18, 2013 @ 8:52 pm
I can`t understand the Jekyll & Hyde character of doctors, they can be so good as in these cases but so bad (big pharma friendly) when it comes to recommending toxic vaccines and other neurotic medications.
December 18, 2013 @ 10:59 pm
Hi Spex I guess surgeons can sometimes be heroes mate but this is not a title I would want to give to too many GP’s, as they are often overpaid heartless bastards.
December 18, 2013 @ 9:11 pm
Wonderful stuff, Chris.
December 18, 2013 @ 9:34 pm
Bless ’em,kids can be cruel at times but at times they can astound me as my friends son who at the time was 7 year old did, when we was looking at a magazine/TV guide I asked Dominic some questions about some of the real life stories of people who had a picture or two to accompany the story about them, one was a little boy around Dom’s age and who lost his legs and a arm (not 100% if even lost half of the other arm) I said what do you think about this little boy who is around the same age as you?…………………………………………………..
The answer was totally mind blowing when he answered me,he only made a reference to what football team the boy supported which he wore with the football team t.shirt that he was wearing, totally overlooked his disability with his artificial legs and arm……………. Which was not what I expected him to say and It touched my soul, I could not get over the way he responded as he was a nasty little git at times, but that day he was that of an angel,and who went right to the top of my favorite kids as I have never would imagine how I could feel like, I did which was a mixture of feeling humbled, proud, instant bonding (never bonded until then) and a admiration with a certain respect feeling I have forever for he did not see what I did or what like so many other people would have.
December 18, 2013 @ 9:57 pm
And that is why we do the things we do.
Nice one Chris 🙂
December 18, 2013 @ 11:04 pm
Thanks for showing us you’ve got a heart every bit as big as your brain Chris. Peace to you and yours mate!
December 18, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
And people question Chris or his motives ? , Stacey was born with Nevus the surgeon did a marvelous job , how many of those useless bastard MP’s will donate there “we don’t want a pay rise it’s being forced on us , bullshit ” to help those disfigured by their decisions to terrorize the civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan that they caused by illegal wars , not one i bet , all fucking millionaires and still want more , even set up bogus charities in family names (cleggoland) , then right off £3.2 billion of government fraud and that’s just from 2012 , refuse aid of £22 million for UK fooodbanks , (fuck me Charles Dicken’s wouldn’t believe this shit) , yet give millions to other countries , utter lunacy , POA .
December 18, 2013 @ 11:44 pm
Stunning girl, sure your the dad.lol
December 19, 2013 @ 12:05 am
Chris, that photo of Stacey dressed ready for her first day at school is what I am hoping for when my children have children of their own. We all want that to be a reality, and that is why we are here helping and shining a light on bullshit such as The Georgia Guidestones that Dogman mentioned earlier. Stay safe.
December 19, 2013 @ 12:25 am
Hahahahaha,Spiv with hair,photo shop or what.Realy it just goes to show that our daughters tend take after their mothers when it comes to looks cause your two are really pretty,nuff said.What a wonderful and heartfelt story this is,shows your soft emotional side Chris in all it’s glory.Big Heart,Big Brain,Big up you Big Man.Keep up the good work,Mucho Besos para tu y famalia
December 19, 2013 @ 2:50 am
No reason you can’t get on the forum ? , if you can’t let me know why , POA .
December 19, 2013 @ 1:59 am
Xxxxx
You are the image of my uncle. It’s uncanny!
I call him Kojak
Merry Fucking Christmas x
December 19, 2013 @ 10:04 am
Merry Fucking Christmas to you too Halo.
Tell me? Why on earth do you call your Uncle a make of camera?
Just fucking askin’
Chris 😉 xx
December 19, 2013 @ 2:14 am
Nice 1 Chris. Thanks for sharing
December 19, 2013 @ 3:18 am
Chris,
I just got in from what was in the main a good night at a Christmas party with friends that was ruined at the end when in his round up of Christmas wishes the compere said lets give a big cheer for all our soldiers fighting overseas and I sat there silently fuming while two hundred sheeple cheered and hollered ……needless to say I was back to my grumpy self until I got home and checked in with your site and read your latest (Christmas) cracker. Now I feel so humble and far less grumpy and shall sleep so much better tonight knowing there are people out there like you. This is what makes you special man……you are not just a Big Man you are a very special and lovely person. Have a very big kiss X and give huge hugs and take very special care of your beautiful daughter Stacey and grandson Clayton. I hope you and your lovely family have a very special Christmas and the New Year brings you, your family and all of us much peace and a nicer world to live in.
Sleep tight Big Man,
GC
December 19, 2013 @ 9:59 am
You have a Merry Christmas too Glen.
Chris
December 19, 2013 @ 8:52 am
Chris this is what makes your site the best out there, the personal touches that not many other bother to add. Thank you for sharing this and it really does put most peoples petty day to day struggles into perspective. x
December 19, 2013 @ 12:35 pm
Chris, you are a strange one. You look like a big bad boy but when you start talking you can bring tears to my eyes. Just goes to show that a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover. It’s the words inside that count. Have a great Christmas.
December 19, 2013 @ 4:45 pm
Thanks Chris for sharing your personal story here about your family and we want to wish you and your loved ones a great Christmas.
When my wife gave birth to twin boys who were very premature (25 weeks gestation) nothing could have prepared us for the roller coaster of a journey that followed, they are both lucky to have survived their first few months having had head bleeds and four operations before we even were able to take them home.
All the operations were a success but unfortunately for Daniel his head bleed caused him to have cerebral palsy. So with CP you can figure out what his time at school has been like and how helpful the education establishment has been. So just want to add for those parents who have special needs kids who struggle with anything, sometimes the only place these kids feel accepted and loved is when they are at home. So to everyone Happy Christmas have a good one. x
December 19, 2013 @ 9:19 pm
Stacey is a great looking young Lady – can’t say the same for her old man though.
It’s okay Spivey doesn’t know where I live!
December 20, 2013 @ 7:48 am
Thanks Chris. Needed a little article like that to just put things back into perspective. Oh, love the hair btw 😛 That proper cheered me up 😀
December 20, 2013 @ 3:54 pm
Very Moving Indeed
December 20, 2013 @ 4:32 pm
Thanks for sharing that story with us Chris. I don’t always agree with everything that you say, but your courage and your love for your family is 100% genuine. Your daughters and Grandson are so lovely, and I’m glad everything went well for Stacey. It is always awful for any person have scars or flaws on their faces, but particularly if you are a Woman, because society expects Women to be ‘pretty’. It isn’t fair but sadly it is true. I wish you and the family a great xmas and a happy and healthy new year Chris, Love Lorraine xx.
December 26, 2013 @ 4:45 am
I don’t comment on here much but i was moved by your story (you look better without the hair mate).
I brought up my eldest daughter on my own too,her mother passed away in 95 so i was left in a bit of a state but i wouldn’t have had it any other way.She has a little one of her own now too,funny how things turn out innit!
anyway much love to you & yours and all the best for 2014!
Spawn! (Mr Doubleyou MF kin Dee! xx