A vascular birthmark caused 24-year-old Casey Hall, from Blaine, Washington, to suffer from low self-esteem for most of her life but through social media, she found the courage to embrace and even thrive because of it.
Capillary malformation, the abnormal development of blood vessels in the skin, causes the port-wine stain that Casey has. In her case, the birthmark is on the left side of her face and the lower lip. Her birthmark doesn’t change shape although it can change color depending on changes in body temperature.
Watch to find out more of Casey’s story below.
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Casey has already gone through 13 laser surgeries that managed to shrink her birthmark but it’s still obviously there.
Casey said: “I don’t feel like it’s a birth defect even though like in the strictest sense of the term it is, to be defective is not something I want to be called.”
She added that she ‘hated’ what she saw in the mirror as she was growing up and all the pressure to look a certain way made her feel insecure.
“I always thought you need to cover them, you need to look the same as everybody else,” she said.
Casey continued: “I struggled to meet people because once they saw my picture they would just not want to date me.
“I was down on myself and going through some mental health issues.
“Self-esteem was definitely a big factor in my life.”
For all the negative news about Instagram addiction, it was this online medium that inspired Casey because of the other women with similar conditions as hers confidently posting their own pictures.
She explained: “I saw everybody was posting their stories about their mental health problems and how they found a community through Instagram.
“I started looking for people who had birthmarks.
“Through social media, I was able to see these strong women and realize if they can do it, I can do it.”
Casey added: “Social media has boosted my confidence because I feel that by finding other people who share similar stories or the same story, I have a kindred spirit and I know that I’m not alone.
“A lot of the time if you feel self-conscious, it’s because you feel alone and finding those people has helped me.”
Kari Hrutfiord, Casey’s mom, said she was not aware that her daughter was suffering from low self-esteem.
She explained: “She always seemed like she was a happy-go-lucky kid and apparently deep down it was getting to her…
“I think she is very strong, she overcame a lot.”
Three years ago, Casey met her husband Jacob Hall online.
Describing their first meeting, Jacob said: “She posted something in the middle of the night.
“It drew my eye, we just started talking and hit it off.
“Maybe three weeks after we started talking when the whole, ‘Can I at least see your face to get to know what you look like?’ So I can, you know, put a face to the voice I’m hearing on the other end of the line.
“She was very hesitant at first and I remember she was very surprised when I actually knew what a port-wine stain was already.
“A couple of months later, I was flying out here to meet her for the first time.
“When I saw her it was just the smile that immediately came to her face and it …
“I’m not so good with the words to express exactly what it felt like but it was a powerful moment…and six months after we were engaged.”
Jacob said Casey’s birthmark never bothered him although he acknowledges that there are people who openly stare at Casey on the street.
He said: “If they are adults, I tend to just stare them down, just because I know they don’t appreciate it and I know Casey doesn’t appreciate being stared at.
“But if they are kids I normally just kind of acknowledge that I caught them staring and they have that sheepish grin and they look away.”
Nowadays, Casey isn’t afraid to show her face online and share her own story in her effort to spread awareness about those with visible differences.
She said that those who are visibly different should never feel alone, saying: “There is somebody out there even if it’s one other person that knows what you’re going through.
“Maybe not to the certain extent because you might not have the same background, but you always have a support system in the community for facial differences and it doesn’t matter what the differences you might have.”
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