Nicole Lucas Hall: Celebrating Uniqueness and Spreading Awareness
Nicole Lucas Hall is a loving mother of two, her son Asher and her daughter Winry. At just 13 months old, Winry was born with a rare birthmark that covers a significant portion of her face.
When recalling the moment they first laid eyes on their daughter, Nicole expressed that their initial thoughts were a mixture of confusion and concern for her safety. Neither of them had ever seen a birthmark like this before. Nicole said, “When they first handed her to me, I thought it was a bruise. It then quickly became apparent to my husband and me that it was not a bruise. I thought it looked a lot like a mole.” They initially assumed it was something dangerous, but the doctors swiftly put their fears to rest. Winry was born with a rare congenital melanocytic nevus, with a prevalence estimated at around 1 in 50,000 births. They were assured that the birthmark was likely purely aesthetic and that any health risks would be on par with other nevi or moles.
With a vast sigh of relief, Nicole and her husband could finally relax and appreciate Winry’s arrival even more. Instead of being sad about her daughter’s circumstances, Nicole harnessed the power of social media to promote awareness and encourage others to embrace being “different” as their superpower. She explained, “For a lot of people, this is the first time seeing a birthmark like hers, and that’s part of why I enjoy sharing. This is a good conversation for parents with their children to see kids have differences, or for those parents who do have a kid that looks like Winry or has any kind of birthmark to see their child represented. Her health and happiness are our top priority. We have to monitor her with sunscreen. I’m careful with hats and that sort of thing. I know our regular dermatology appointment is probably going to be our best friend growing up.”
Apart from their regular routines, they’ve been entirely overwhelmed by the compassion of those who have learned about Winry. Every little sister wants to have an older brother looking after her, and in Winry’s case, Asher is a true, helpful, sweet brother. According to Nicole, he is wonderfully unaware that there is anything ‘different’ about her. He knows she has a birthmark on her face, but that is nothing more different to him than having different eye colors. Every single day, Nicole and her husband do everything they can to protect and raise Winry and her brother to be confident in all of their strengths and features. As important as it is for them to constantly check on Winry’s health, they are also concerned about how others might perceive or judge her.
Winry was the first person in the family to have this birthmark, but Winry’s is what truly sets her apart. Nicole said, “She just radiates joy. She’s almost always laughing or shrieking. She is just the happiest baby I have ever seen. She’s a big talker already. We haven’t got a whole lot of words out, but she tells you like it is and she’s already getting a little bit of sassiness, so I think we’re gonna have a lot on our hands. We’ve got to talk to several people from Brazil with birthmarks. One of them has one that is almost identical to Winry’s, and it’s been so fun to talk to her because she’s almost exactly my age.”
In the journey of raising Winry, Nicole Lucas Hall and her family have not only embraced their daughter’s uniqueness but have also become advocates for awareness and acceptance, proving that love, support, and education can overcome any challenge.
