One of the 20,000
When baby Vienna Brookshaw was born in April 2021, her mother, Celine Casey, was overjoyed — until she noticed something unexpected.
Born in the U.K., Vienna had a prominent dark mark between her eyebrows. Celine’s heart sank. Had something gone wrong during pregnancy?
Thankfully, doctors reassured her that the birthmark was harmless. But Celine couldn’t stop worrying about how it might affect her daughter emotionally as she grew up. The rare mark was diagnosed as congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN) — a condition that affects only about 20,000 babies. It occurs when clusters of pigment cells form before birth and usually grow as the child gets older.
Although not medically dangerous, its location meant Vienna could face curious stares, awkward questions, and potentially unkind comments from strangers.
That’s when her parents made a life-changing decision.
Vienna’s condition
The condition is rare, and there was no way to predict how much the birthmark might grow as she got older. Her mother felt strongly that she didn’t want her daughter to deal with that in the future. Casey immediately asked doctors what options were available. She also admitted she feared her daughter might resent them later if they didn’t act. She said, “We love seeing her grow on her journey, and we can’t wait for the day that she does grow up and can speak for herself so we can hear her opinion, we’d love her no matter what, even if we did keep the birthmark.”
Her concern grew after noticing people already staring at Vienna as a baby and treating her differently, which strengthened her decision to pursue removal.
However, the surgery was denied by the NHS, which typically does not fund procedures considered non-essential for physical health, classifying it as cosmetic.
Determined, the family launched a crowdfunding campaign to seek private treatment.
Denied surgery
After the NHS refusal, they turned to fundraising. In just 24 hours, they raised $52,000 for the procedure. But rising post-COVID hospital costs meant they needed an additional $27,000.
They returned to GoFundMe to cover the remaining expenses for Vienna’s surgery.
“Everybody has things they’re insecure about on their body, and the doctor said he’d respect that, but with Vienna, it wasn’t going to affect her mental health right now. But we didn’t see it as that, she’s going to start school when she’s three, and younger kids are so smart, they point out stuff like that,” the worried mother explained.
Now three years old, Vienna’s birthmark has been completely removed, leaving only a small scar on her forehead. Her mother often shares updates on her recovery and describes her daughter as “gorgeous.”
Even after the procedures, the family traveled to London so the surgeon could assess the healing and determine whether any further treatment was needed after the three surgeries she had already undergone. For now, Vienna is a healthy three-year-old and requires no further medical attention.
We are sending all our best wishes to little Vienna.
