The Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo is widely considered a modern classic.
It’s easy to see why: Nemo is an adorable and brave character, the story is a great adventure and everyone in it is immensely likable. Still, part of what makes any character great is their bravery in the face of hardships and their flaws that make them relatable. For Nemo, one of the obstacles he had to face was how one of his flippers was a little smaller than the other.
As it turns out, Nemo’s struggle has been a source of strength for one family.
Tayler Borre and Ryan Shelhan were just a normal couple who were awaiting a baby.
Borre was pregnant and been attending all the usual prenatal check-ups. Although she was excited to get more news about her unborn baby daughter, Borre got a little nervous when her main doctor referred her to a specialist. As it turned out, there was something irregular about the scan. Borre elaborated on this in a Facebook post:
“On july 2nd i went for my anatomy scan, it was so great to see her, we saw her little face, her feet, all of her organs were perfect! After the scan I had a regular check up with my Dr and he says hes sending me to a fetal specialist…my heart dropped i was so scared… I asked what was wrong he didn’t go into detail well, all he said was her upper half wasn’t measuring correctly. So they sent me to all children’s hospital to have a better scan.
My all childrens scan was 2 weeks after my regular OB appointment, I was so worried for those weeks. If i didn’t feel her all day I would have anxiety attacks, I had many breakdowns over not knowing what was wrong.”
After seeing the specialist, Borre and Shelhan found out their daughter had amniotic band syndrome, or ABS.
Unlike standard birth defects, amniotic band constriction is a relatively random occurrence. It results from different body parts of the fetus getting tangled in the amniotic strings—typically, these strings tighten around either the hands or feet and cause abnormalities or deformities.
Although the news was initially difficult to hear, Borre and Shelhan were determined to turn it into a positive:
“On that day we found out our sweet girl has no left hand, it was so hard to hear that just thinking about how mean people can be towards people who are “different” and of course not wanting anything to be wrong with your child. But i was also at peace with the news because everything else she measured perfect and she’s nice and strong! She is our nemo❤ she has a fin thats a little smaller than the other, but she will conquer anything her little heart desires to do!
This is not a disability or a bad thing, she will be a little rockstar no matter what! She will do it all! ❤❤ We love you so baby girl!!!!❤❤”
The post has since gone viral and has been shared 88,000 times on Facebook.
Above all, this story is an inspiring reminder that life is often a matter of perspective. Although ABS can be an obstacle in life, Borre and Shelhan wanted to publicly show that their attitude towards their daughter wasn’t affected by it at all. Everyone has a different set of challenges in their life that make it more difficult, but it’s those very difficulties that often give meaning to our lives.
As it turns out, the reference to Finding Nemo was right on the money!
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