Even though the world has progressed a lot in the last few hundred years, ignorance is still around every corner. It seems to be a constant battle of light against darkness. When people don’t know something or don’t understand it, they are usually afraid of it or hateful or contemptuous. When someone takes a moment to look at something from another person’s perspective, they’ll realize that they can relate to it.
Just recently, young mom, Dallas Fowler was in the check-out line at her local Walmart when she came across ignorance face to face.
Fowler realized that her 2-year-old son Jameus wanted a little hug, so doing what any mom would do, she picked him up and gave him a quick cuddle. During the hug, the boy’s shirt lifted up revealing his colostomy bags – and the customer behind Fowler in line had a fit…
The little boy’s colostomy bags cover his stomas and collect the waste his body expels. Stomas connect an opening in the colon to the surface of the abdomen.
The other Walmart customer thought the sight of the boy’s colostomy bags was nightmarish. So she shrieked and told Fowler to cover up her “repulsive” boy. The woman demanded to know why Jameus was disfigured like it was any of her business…
Fowler told the woman he had the colostomy bags because “his colon didn’t finish forming so he needed them.”
The other customer still thought the boy was disgusting and wasn’t afraid to say it to the mother’s face. So the mom walked to another checkout line where people were not so judgmental.
Because Jameus has Hirschsprung’s disease, a condition that results in problems with the large intestine, the little boy has been forced to undergo more than 20 surgeries with more scheduled in the future.
Fowler decided to share her experience with the ignorant woman with her supporters on Facebook.
She wrote: “Tonight, we were in Walmart standing in a long line waiting to check out. My sweet 2-year-old wanted me to hold him. As I picked him up out of the cart, his shirt came up exposing his two stomas and bags on his stomach. Typically, I have a onesie underneath his shirt but tonight I just got him dressed quickly to run to the store. The onesie helps to keep his bags in one place and makes it harder for him to tug and pull them off.
“There was an older woman in line behind me who caught a glimpse and shrieked a little before she said to me “why in the world would you let someone do that to him?”
“I turned around speechless and just looked at her before she continued and asked why he had them. I gave her the short version and basically said: “his colon didn’t finish forming so he needed them.” I left out that he had a rare disease called Hirschsprung’s disease because I was a little annoyed from her first statement. She then goes “well I am sorry but I just think that is so ‘repulsing’, can you please keep his shirt down?” At this point, I just wanted to shake this woman and scream “what is wrong with you?!” But instead, I told her to have a good night and went to another line.”
“See what that woman doesn’t understand is, when my son is healthy, he is no different than any other 2 year old. He runs, plays, swims and goes to daycare. When he’s healthy, you wouldn’t be able to look at him and know he’s had over 20 surgeries and procedures. You wouldn’t know that he’s got more ahead in his future. You wouldn’t know he gets painful home dilation and irrigation treatments twice a day every day. You wouldn’t know that every day a catheter is put into his stoma to “feed” it stool twice a day in the hopes of growing his colon. He’s my heart. He is so funny, and full of personality. He is sweet and loving and kind but also a little ball of fire.
“Please be kind and choose your words wisely, especially should you choose to comment about something that is none of your business. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about, and my son is winning his.”
Do you support this mother? Did she do the right thing?
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