Mother's mission to stop people from staring at her daughter
Little Sophia attracts a lot of attention.
Aside from being an adorable toddler she also has a red mark stretching across 75 per cent of her face.
It’s the result of a rare neurological and skin disorder called Type 1 Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS), which Sophia was diagnosed with as a baby.
The condition means the 23-month-old can't sit, crawl or feed and can only speak a few words.
She will spend the rest of her life on medication.
Despite all of this, however, Sophia’s mother Mandy Longergan says the biggest challenge for them has been dealing with other people.
“People have asked me have I burnt her? Is she sunburned? What’s wrong with her face? What’s that on her face? Is that a rash?” she told the Daily Mail Australia.
“I used to get very anxious and teary and I’d just go home but now I’m open for a dialogue if you want to talk about I’ll talk about it."
The 30-year-old, from Ipswich in Queensland, decided to start the Sauce Ya Face campaign to try and educate people about Sophia’s condition.
“It’s not so much to me anymore but when Sophia’s a teenager, if she can comprehend what’s going on around her, she’ll struggle with people just saying stupid things like that.”
The campaign quickly attracted the attention of US television host Ellen DeGeneres, who ran a segment about Sophia on her show.
The hashtag #ellenmeetssophia was used all over the world and thousands of people filmed themselves smearing sauce on their faces to spread awareness.
Ms Longergan says she has been overwhelmed by the response.
“We want her to be strong and fierce,' she said.
“We won’t know if she can comprehend the world around her until she’s older.
'Let’s give her a good background so if she does get to be older and understand she knows that we fought for her and we believe in her and she’ll be okay.”
’’’Morning news break – June 10'''
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