A mum who faced fierce criticism after using laser treatment on a large birthmark on her baby has defended her controversial choice – and revealed her son has passed a landmark six weeks without a seizure.
Brooke Atkins, 34, from the Gold Coast, Queensland, noticed her second child, a boy called Kingsley, now 22 months old, was born with a large Port Wine Stain (PWS) birthmark covering half his face .
When stay-at-home mum Brooke and her partner Kewene Wallace, 28, decided to get lasered when Kingsley was around six months old, she was branded a ‘monster’ by cruel online trolls.
While the marks are usually harmless, if they cover the eye, they can lead to both glaucoma and Sturge Weber syndrome – which causes seizures.
Kingsley was diagnosed with both, but laser treatment to lighten and improve the overall skin of the birthmark helped greatly, reducing the toddler’s risk of further complications.
Baby Kingsley (pictured before his laser tag was removed) was diagnosed with glaucoma and Sturge Weber syndrome – which causes seizures
Now aged 22 months (pictured), the youngster has passed a milestone six weeks without seizures
Mother Brooke (pictured) came under fire after using the treatment on Kingsley (pictured) – but says his health has improved as a result
The decision to go ahead with laser treatment last year was a good one, according to mum Brooke (pictured with Kingsley), who says her son is ‘doing great’
In a new milestone, his mother revealed that he recently went six weeks seizure-free – the longest since his seizures began in October 2022.
With her son thriving, mom has no regrets about continuing treatment.
“Kinglesey is doing great,” Brooke said.
“He had another laser treatment two months ago – his first under general anesthetic as he is too old and conscious to have treatments awake now.
“His face has responded very well to the laser and we are five weeks seizure free.
“He also just had his third eye surgery for his glaucoma, which so far seems to have been successful.”
Despite the backlash she received online after sharing Kingsley’s story, Brooke defended the decision.
He said: “I think having anything out there on the internet is going to attract criticism, unfortunately.
According to Brooke, despite the fact that the treatment helped her son, sharing any information about it tends to attract criticism
When baby Kingsley was first born (pictured) the mark was barely visible, but soon became more noticeable
Despite his difficult times, baby Kingsley (pictured during his treatment) has been described as a happy and sweet baby
According to mother Brooke, people even refer to laser therapy as ‘abuse’ – despite medical benefits
‘[Recently] we once again received all these negative reviews from people who didn’t understand why we did the laser.
‘[They said] things like “that’s horrible, that’s abuse”, “wow, some people don’t deserve children and it’s so sad that they don’t love them the way they are” and “vanity is bad”.
“It doesn’t bother me like it used to.
“However, it angers me that they don’t bother to learn the signs of Port Wine Stain and jump to these conclusions.
“I try my best to educate them because we are doing laser treatment at such a young age.
Despite his health tests, baby Kingsley (pictured here with his sister Armani) is the “happiest, most loving and sweetest boy you’ll ever meet,” according to mother Brooke.
Mother-of-two Brooke (pictured with her children) says if you don’t have something nice to say, it’s best not to say anything at all
Brooke and her partner Kewene Wallace (pictured, left and left) said the decision to go through with the laser was ‘difficult’
But, the parents say, when challenged about the port’s treatment, they point out that “this will give him the best chance of not adding to the long list of medical problems he already has.”
In an effort to help educate other parents, Brooke shares updates on Kingsley’s treatments with approximately 50,000 online followers
“I tell them this will give him the best chance of not adding to the long list of medical problems he already has.
“And if they respond rudely to that, I try not to tell them what I really think, but sometimes it’s hard.
“If you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Brooke and her partner Kewene Wallace, 28 – with whom she has three-year-old daughter Amarni – made the difficult decision to try the laser treatment in May 2022.
Last year, he said: “The only way to treat a port wine stain is through laser treatments and the most effective laser for this is called a pulsed dye laser.
“When he was first born, we were referred to the dermatology and vascular department at Queensland Children’s Hospital, where they organized the first treatment and explained in more detail why the laser would be important.
“The purpose of laser treatments is not to ‘remove’ the scar, but instead to keep the skin healthy, to prevent any further damage to the area.”
Treatment will continue to be required once or twice a year for maintenance.
Brooke will continue to update her 46,000 followers and share Kingsley’s progress as he continues to thrive.
She added: “He’s the happiest, most loving and sweetest boy you’ll ever meet!”
