Every baby is lovely in their own way, but let’s be honest: some babies are so one-of-a-kind that doctors are taken aback when they see them. Luna Tavares-“Batman Fenner’s birthmark” captivated everyone when she was born in 2019. She recently went viral on social media, and for good reason. Luna Tavares-Fenner of Florida is just like any other three-year-old. She enjoys eating, laughing, and running around at home and outside…
Luna was born with a congenital melanocytic nevus that affected both her and her family. Giant congenital melanocytic nevus is a skin condition that is distinguished by an abnormally dark, noncancerous skin patch (nevus) composed of pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. It is present from birth (congenital) or becomes apparent shortly after birth. Luna’s mother was taken aback when she gave birth to her daughter. She was scared after noticing a dark patch on her face.
Luna was born with a dark patch on her face resembling the Batman mask.”I’m used to it now, but I was shocked at the time,” Carol told WPLG in 2019. Carol was understandably terrified. When our child is born, nothing in the world, including ourselves, means more to us. She had no idea her daughter would look different because her last ultrasound revealed no abnormalities.
Doctors discovered a dark patch on Luna’s face just four days before her birth, and she was kept in the hospital for six days after birth while doctors ran tests. Following extensive research, doctors concluded that the dark patch could pose a serious threat in the future, similar to skin cancer, and they recommended several options. Carol desperately wanted her daughter to be able to live a normal life and have the patch removed from her face, but she needed at least six surgeries,
each of which would cost around 40,000 dollars. Luna’s mother began looking for money wherever she could. It was difficult for the family. “We went to a lot of doctors.” “We went to Boston, Chicago, and New York in search of a better result,” Carol explained. Carol wanted Luna to have the surgery before going to school so she wouldn’t be teased. Even as a child, Luna and her family had to deal with idiotic comments from people who had no idea what it was like to be born with a dark patch across the entire face.
Many parents in Carol’s situation would choose to hide their daughter to avoid ridicule, but not Carol. She took advantage of her shortcoming to raise awareness about her daughter’s disease. She set up an Instagram page where people could see her daily activities. Dr. Pavel Borisovich Popov, a Russian surgeon-oncologist, contacted Carol and offered to perform a treatment that was not available in the United States.
However, the treatment was prohibitively expensive, and the only way to make it available was to solicit public assistance. Luna’s family organized a fundraiser to help with the costs, and they raised a whopping $70,000 from those who wanted to help. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy to go to Russia,” Carol told SWNS in 2019. “But I’ve done a lot of research and gotten advice from several doctors, and I really think this is the best option for Luna right now.”
Carol and Luna had to travel back and forth to Russia in the midst of the pandemic for several years to conduct tests. Fortunately, all of the operations to date have been successful! Dr. Pavel Borisovich Popov is extremely pleased with the results, believing that Luna’s risk of developing cancer has been significantly reduced. “We only had six operations to remove the nevus and were successful in making it disappear,” Dr. Popov explained to East2West News.
“Luna has already begun to speak, and she says to herself, ‘My black spot has vanished.’ ‘I am a princess,’ she says. According to Dr. Popov, the main medical portion of the task has been completed, but the journey is far from over. “We are giving Luna time to recover from her treatment before proceeding with the cosmetic surgeries.” Later on, we hope to ensure that Luna does not develop any complexes when she reaches the age where she is concerned about her appearance,” Dr. Popov explains.
Luna has undergone significant transformations, as evidenced by recent photos. I’m so glad she was able to live a normal life, because people can be so cruel at times. Carol is an American citizen who was born in Brazil, so they flew to Brazil to celebrate Christmas last year. Luna has not received treatment since the year 2022, according to her mother. “The year is flying by, and we still haven’t decided where, when, or how much the next surgeries will cost.” Let us continue to make the most of 2022, which was Our Princess’s only year without procedures.