Think what you will about the Thompson family from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, but my heart goes out to teen mom Anna right now. The eldest daughter of June Shannon and "Sugar Bear" made the couple grandparents with the birth of baby Kaitlyn. And now it's out that the baby has a birth defect -- she was born with an extra thumb on her right hand.
Yes, this is the same little girl who was dosed with a pacifier dipped in Mountain Dew recently, but the two things aren't related. The baby girl had the extra finger at birth. And from the way the family is talking, that thumb is there to stay.
Grandmother June told People that they've embraced the extra digit because "it makes Kaitlyn more special to us."
Well, that's one way to look at it. Hold on, I'm not criticizing this family.
I tend to think that if my child was born with an extra finger, I'd have it removed if only because it is so obvious. You can hide a third nipple under your shirt if it makes you uncomfortable. You can keep your six toes in a shoe until you begin to feel comfortable in flip flops. But there's no hiding your hands when you need to use them constantly.
I'd hate to think that my child was being picked on because of something that I could have had fixed.
But I can't fault Honey Boo Boo's sister if she decides that Kaitlyn's polydactyly (the official name for extra digits) is something she wants to just leave alone.
Until you're facing a baby with a birth defect face-to-face, it's easy to imagine what you would do. But when this is your reality, all those snap decisions tend to get lost in a sea of "what if"s.
What if you have surgery to remove an extra limb or digit and something goes wrong? The baby is seemingly healthy, so why put her life at risk? On the other hand, what if this extra thumb is going to turn her into the laughingstock of her classes in elementary school? Kids are cruel, and this could be what bullies choose to pick on to make her life a living hell.
Having all those thoughts running through her head can't be easy for Anna. Then add in the fuss over being on a TV show AND being a new mom? All I can think is that poor girl!
What would you do if your child was born with something "extra"? Would you embrace it or remove it?
Image via TLC
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Comments 121
Why are people so stupid???
The extra finger makes the child "more" special? WTF is wrong with a child has normal fingers? I guess they're "less" special eh? Morons. Oh and a teen mom to boot. Great. Poor kid. Born to filth, doomed to be raised in it by morons. Oh well, maybe that extra finger will help her hang on to her spatula at the local dairy queen flipping burgers.
I don't watch this show regularly , but my kids do and so I see it occasionally, who is the father of this girls baby and why do we never see him? I realize she's young and all, but every redneck teenage boy I know is fascinated with babies (I assume he is a redneck teenage boy?)
@Lilac: Love the reference and the movie!
I think you need to leave the decision up to the kid. Just so you know, kids I know would think it's awesome to have an extra opposable thumb.
@Cheyanne Carnii Wilson...you do make a good point too..@ Miriam Kennedy..you also have an interesting point!! why are they keeping it quiet!!!??? makes you wonder who is the father? and why there are no other grandparents wanting to see the baby or dont have anything to do with it. and as young and as immature anna is for her age...hummmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! sometimes not such a good idea to have tlc record every intamate detail of your lives!!! thats just my perspective as a mother and a grandmother