An American mother opened up about the upbringing of her daughter, Hazel, born with Moebius syndrome – a rare neurological disorder that causes facial paralysis.
30 -year -old Victoria Labrie first saw that her daughter’s eyes appeared open during the ultrasound scan during pregnancy.
This observation is initially considered “very cute”, with Hazel’s birth to a different meaning in December 2024. His eyes were “wide open like a small owl”, and Hazel’s parents, Victoria and Bobby, “immediately” knew that something was not right.
Two weeks later, Hazel was diagnosed with Moebius syndrome, which confirms his full facial paralysis and inability to blink or smile.
Despite the challenges, Victoria has learned to read the feelings of hazel through eye contact and subtle signs, while a ticket post increased awareness about the situation, viral, which has seen more than 24 million often.
Victoria also included the children of their previous wedding, co-owners, including Twins Harley and Harper, Six, Colon, Four and their adopted daughter, Veronica, 14.
Victoria, who have to manually close Hazel’s eyes to relax them, said: “Hazel has the most right facial features and is crazy, as he was detected some asymmetry in his face, but you will not be able to tell.
“She is just this beautiful fair skin and it is a great eyeball, and she simply looks like a small doll.
“Nobody has done her wrong for a doll, but people always say that she looks like one.
“I can read his feelings looking at his eyes and the way he walks – I can feel his happiness.
“She should be able to talk in future and she is now making some noise.”
When Victoria was pregnant with Hazel, the 3D ultrasound scan showed that her baby’s eyes were open – at that time, Victoria thought that it was “very cute” and “ultrasound technicians agreed”.
When Hazel was born in December 2024, his eyes were open, and Victoria and Bobby felt that something was not right.
Within two weeks, after undergoing MRI brain scan, Hazel was detected Moebius syndrome.
According to Facial Palsy UK, it is an extremely rare neurological disorder that is present at birth and the face is characterized by weak or paralysis of muscles that control expression and lateral eye movements.
Hazel has some dynamics on the lower left side of her lips, but the rest of her face is completely paralyzed – she is unable to blink the eyelid and can move her eyes up and down, but not on the side.
Victoria said, “Getting a diagnosis was disastrous at first, thinking that she would not really smile.”
“I had not heard about it before, so I think it was lost in a way, but once I processed it, I knew that I had to do everything that I could make Hazel’s life best.”
Victoria has to manually close Hazel’s eyes to relax them and spend every day to two hours every day to improve lubrication and prevent corneal damage.
She said: “She is actually the best sleeper of all my children; she gets very good sleep.
“If I am sleeping, I try to close his eyes for him, they will open myself after a few seconds.”
Victoria sometimes finds it difficult, because children usually connect with others through their smiles and facial expressions, but have learned to read their feelings through the way they have moved their feelings and the way they have moved their feelings.
Victoria explained, “She is really a pleasant child and she shouts, just without taking her mouth,” Victoria explained.
“When she closes her eyes with someone, she will sit and keep you staring.
“It seems that she may have started slipping a little, and it is difficult to tell, obviously, because she cannot show so on her face.
“You can just tell that he is comfortable and he is happy.
“Some of my other children are autistic, so they struggle with communicating their feelings so I am used for it.”
Victoria said that it had not raised expectations for the future in terms of Hazel’s ability to express feelings.
“With children with disabilities, you plan to keep them happy now and so I don’t want to say that I am worried about his future – I know if anything is thrown towards us, we are just going to take a day in a day,” he said.
To raise awareness about Hazel’s position, Victoria posted under the handle @torlab on Tiktok, sharing images and a brief description of his story.
The post has been viewed more than 24 million times since.
“I didn’t think I was sharing with millions of people, I felt that I was sharing a very small face paralysis with the community,” Victoria said.
“So to fly this way for this, I was so, Smoking Holy – I did not think I would be viral with my child, it will not be able to take a blink, but I am happy that I can raise awareness.”
Apart from Hazel, Victoria’s twin daughters and their son have autism, and Veronica has ADHD.
He explained: “When I got the first autism diagnosis, it hit me very hard. I had a moment of sorrow, and then I raised right and said, ‘What can I do for my children?’
“And then immediately started searching for medical and things that they will find on the right path.”
Victoria and her children are looking for a new house that suit the needs of her children.
He said: “The market is crazy at this time and my children have much more requirements than just finding a house – we have to stay away from water, look out for busy roads.
“We will also like a sensory room in a room with lights and bubbles and crash pads – they don’t all take interest in toys or traditional learning materials.”
Victoria’s mother launched a funderizer to help cover a new house and the cost of renewal.
To learn more, go to his funding.
