I have a silver dollar sized pws on my right cheek. After reading all of these stories, I realize my pws is not so bad comparatively speaking, but it doesn't mean I haven't had my share of rejections, stares, and questions over the past 54 years. When I was born in 1951 laser treatment was not even an option (the laser wasn’t even invented until 1960). My mother says I was injured at birth due to the doctor’s use of forceps, a common practice then. This is her theory only, since she was under heavy anesthesia during the birth, also a common practice then. She says that when she saw me for the first time she thought I was the ugliest baby she had ever seen. :'( How’s that for a nice beginning? She further says that at birth, my face was marked like a hot horseshoe had been laid on it, but that all of the marks (except for the one that remains today) faded before we left the hospital.

I didn’t really have a problem accepting my birthmark until I reached junior high. Like most teens, I was self conscience about anything and everything that made me even the slightest bit different. My mother bought some cover up makeup that was green, over which I used beige foundation. Within the color spectrum, red and green are opposites, so the theory was that green makeup would neutralize the red [pws]. It did cover up the pws reasonably, but wearing heavy makeup on just one side of a heavily freckled face looked rather odd. So, I applied makeup to my entire face. Result? I still looked odd. Whatever I did or didn’t do, I was going to look different, so I didn’t use cover up makeup for very long. I’m glad I discovered that early on. I decided then that I wasn’t bothered by my pws and if it bothers someone else, it’s their problem. 8)

Most people I encounter are too polite to say anything about my pws. The ones who usually speak out are children. I’ll be somewhere in public and a child will say something like “hey lady, how did you hurt your face?” To which I usually reply “it’s not hurt honey. It’s only a birthmark.” I then leave it up to the parent to teach the child about birthmarks and about speaking to strangers. Sometimes however depending on my mood or how rude the child is, I might say something like “Is it still bleeding?” and go on from there. Adults who do speak up usually ask me if I’ve ever looked into having it removed, which is so extremely rude that it’s hard for me to reply civilly. :-X Usually, I just say a terse “no” and leave it at that. Sometimes however I continue with something like “have you ever considered having a face lift?” Recently a dentist who performed some emergency work on a Saturday told me that he could remove that birthmark for me; that he was certified with a laser. I was aghast! I told him that if I had wanted it removed I would have done it a long time ago and via a dermatologist, not a dentist.

My pws is such a part of me that I can’t imagine going through any kind of pain or expense getting rid of it, unless it were necessary due to an associated medical condition. Besides, from what I’ve read on this web site, removal of a pws is temporary anyway. After all of these years, I don’t “see” my birthmark anymore. When I look in the mirror the pws is just part of my face. Sometimes, I’m truly surprised when I run into an old acquaintance who immediately recognizes me while I can’t remember them for beans. Then I think, oh yeah….it’s my birthmark they must remember. Good reason for not becoming a bank robber, ha ha. ;D