SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE "SMILE SURGERY"
This issue came up a bit on Facebook the other day, and it got me thinking about it.  Here are just some random thoughts I have about it, in no particular order:

1.  I think of course that if a person with Moebius wants the smile surgery, that's great; and if he/she has it and it's successful, of course, who wouldn't be thrilled about that.  After all, it's only natural to want to smile, to have that ability to express yourself in that way.

2.  At the same time, if one does not wish to have the surgery, that's fine too.  And many adults with Moebius make that choice.  Hey, we are who we are.  We're used to not smiling.  We know how to deal with it.  Why go under the knife?  We're comfortable with who we are.

3.  It is only natural and right for parents of children with Moebius Syndrome to want to look into the smile surgery.  What's it all about? Would my child be a candidate for it?  After all, you want to know all your options.

4.  At the same time, I tend to agree with those who would argue this:  that parents of Moebius children should not feel that their children MUST undergo the smile surgery.  Children with Moebius are indeed beautiful.  They smile from their hearts and they teach us many things every day.  We should not in any way put out the notion that somehow a child--or any individual--is in any way "defective" without the ability to smile.  To us, it shouldn't matter.  Our Moebius children are beautiful from the get-go.  And if we want society to accept us as we are--and we do--then we must accept us as we are, too.  So in my opinion--and this is just my opinion, everyone has to decide these things for themselves--there need be no rush into smile surgery.  And don't let society pressure you into it.  Only do it for the right reasons.

For no matter what, our smiles come from our hearts.