Imagine being born looking like a five-year-old, even if you’re still a baby. Tom Tennent’s birth look amazed both his parents and the doctors. Since then, they have faced many difficulties and shown emotional fortitude. Let’s fast-forward to the present, and you may find yourself crying with awe at Tom’s change. Something extraordinary happened in southeast Australia in 1993.
Everyone was shocked to learn that Tom Tennent was born with an unusual disease. Ultrasounds prenatally revealed something remarkable, which made his parents second-guess their choice. Thankfully, Tom’s father made the wise decision. According to his father, Geoff Tennent, “We talked about it and decided to go forward, accepting whatever fate had in store for us.”
Nobody could have been prepared for the seriousness of Tom’s illness. His parents were completely taken aback when they saw him for the first time in the delivery room. When they laid Tomm on her chest, Debbie Tennent, Tomm’s mother, was astounded by what she saw. She remarked, “Holding him close was heartwarming, but my heart leaped into my throat.” Tom’s condition confounded the medical community.
There were few alternatives for therapy because the reason was unknown. Their only hope was that the creases would disappear as Tomm grew and that he would gradually outgrow his skin. The two-and-a-half months he spent in the hospital presented difficulties for the researchers.
Tom, like Shar Pei puppies, had an overabundance of hyaluronic acid in his body, they found. His levels were noticeably greater than usual, though. It’s interesting to note that Shar Peis’s skin changes and their levels of hyaluronic acid drop with age. Physicians believed that Tomm might experience the same thing. Physician Dr. Andrew Ramsden anticipated that Tom’s health would probably improve with age. He was correct, too! Over time, Tom’s condition did improve, as the doctor had predicted. Early in life, Tomm had to deal with bullying and being left out of school because of his unusual appearance. He still had some little physical differences, but nothing like what he had at birth.
Thirty years after Tom’s birth, physicians are still in shock. Though there is still plenty to learn about his present life, it seems he is happily married to Hannah in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. “Life is easy. You don’t think back on the past; you make decisions,” Tomm said on his Facebook page.
Although the birth of a new child is an exciting time, it also makes one feel protective instinctively. In the next tale, Cristina and Blaize were ecstatic to birth their baby, but they soon learned she had an unusual ailment that originally baffled medical professionals.
