“Is that a burn?” “Were you in an accident?” “Look at that girl over there. What is that on her face?” Those are all questions that sophomore Stephanie Brown has overheard and answered over her 16 years. However, not many know her full and inspiring story behind her birthmark.

It was not until birth that it was discovered that Brown had nevus flammeus, otherwise known as a port-wine stain. This is a form of a birthmark caused by an insufficient amount of nerve fibers. According to an article on KidsHealth.org, in order to suffice for the lack of fibers, blood vessels expand and a greater amount of blood flows and can leave a stain underneath the skin. About 3 in 1000 children have this condition.

Brown’s birthmark is on the left side of her face and extends from her eyes to just above her chest. The mark is both on the inside and outside of her skin and body and also extends to her tongue and tonsil (yes, just one).

As soon as it was discovered, Brown was taken from her parents and spent several days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Her parents were baffled because Mrs. Brown had carried a normal and healthy pregnancy. After many series of tests, her parents were informed that their daughter would most likely suffer from severe mental issues and not spend her life with her parents but rather in a group home with special facilities. It was predicted that she would have severe hearing loss and could possibly be blind.

Her parents thought that this prognosis was true because during the first two years of her life, Brown did not reach the milestones that many infants were expected to reach such as walking and talking. During those two years, she also went through numerous tests to determine an official diagnosis. She visited many doctors all over New Jersey and New York and had between 10 and 12 laser surgeries for the mark. Many of the questions remained unanswered, but her parents attempted to stay hopeful. Her father always had a gut feeling that those doctors were wrong – that she would really be twice as smart as the other kids and that they just had to reach that point and wait until she reached her milestones.

Mr. Brown was right. After a rocky start to life, Brown had a steady, normal childhood that would develop into a very bright future. She enjoyed reading at a young age, attended public school, and excelled in her classes. She was a cheerleader, a dancer, enjoyed playing with her dog Duke and with her little sister Jenny.

However, there was a fear that in her puberty years she would develop Sturge-Weber Syndrome, a seizure disease experienced by some with port-wine stains. Thankfully, no seizures ever appeared.

Today, the only medical concern that has been a problem is that Brown’s left ear canal is rather narrow, and she has slight hearing loss; however, she jokes this might be from listening to music a bit too loudly.

Many of her friends and fellow students knew how smart Brown was, and still is. Brown was valedictorian of the Lincoln Middle School class of 2011 and at her graduation, she shared her unique and inspiring story with her classmates and the entire audience, and there was barely a dry eye around. Things are moving in the same direction for high school. Brown had over a 4.0 GPA at the end of her freshman year and is continuing to excel in everything she does, certainly overcoming the odds she was presented with 16 years ago.