Gastroschisis

My name is antoinette. I am 25 yrs old. I was born on Halloween day( 10-31-82) with gastroschisis. I am extremely happy that I have found this web site. I thought I was the only one born with this birth defect. I have always wanted to meet and talk to someone about this defect.

Living with this has been very tough for me being the one child born out of four kids with this abnormality. I have so many questions about this defect. Unfortunatley I wasn’t blessed with having loving parents there to educate me on gastroschisis.

I still have to live with medical problems because of the large anount of intestines lost at birth. When I was 18 yrs old I was able to become independant and thats when I started to slowly learn about this birth defect. I was hospitalized for the first 6 months of my life. I am very insecure about my body becuase of the gigantic scar across my stomach. I wish I could wear a 2 piece bathing suit and feel attractive.

Sometimes when I am dealing with my life long health problems, I feel that this is such a burden on me. In the end, I know there are blessings in disguise and I believe this is one of them. If it wasn’t for being born with gastroschisis then I know I wouldn’t be as strong as a person that I am today.

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