An ex-finalist said his son's birthmark was mistaken for measles after treatment for a rare disease: "I cried after this comment"

A "Bachelor" finalist whose baby was born with a port wine stain covering half of his face was left in tears when strangers mistook his birthmark for measles. Shawntel Newton was stunned to see the dark crimson spot spread all over the left side of her newborn Leo's face and an escutcheon on her right cheek.

The former funeral director, who was named one of four finalists in the 2010 "The Bachelor's" season with Brad Womack, learned that her 6-month-old son now has Sturge-Weber Syndrome. (SWS). The rare neurological disease is associated with birthmarks of wine stains and patients often experience neurological difficulties, including seizures and eye problems.

Little Leo had his first laser treatment when it was only five days old. He also takes anti-epileptic drugs that doctors hope can avoid a stroke. Newton, 33, revealed that ignorant comments about her son had left her crying.

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"It can be difficult when I go out with Leo after he's been given a laser treatment and people are wondering what he's got on his face," said Newton, also Anthony's mother, who was older. 2 years old. a darker birth mark and red spots on the face. Once, someone asked me if he had measles. I cried after this comment. I'm trying to understand that for most people it's a little different, but it's hard for a heart mom to hear things like that. "

Newton, from Granite Bay, California, gave birth to Leo via a scheduled caesarean on October 18th.

The former bachelor's candidate, who had found love after the show with her husband, Paolo Poidmore, 38, orthodontist, recalled: "I heard the doctor say," Oh my God he has a very big birthmark on his face. "to see him but my husband looked a little shocked. The nurses said it was a bruise. "

"When they brought her to me, her half of her face was very purple," she said. "On the other side of his cheek, there was another little patch. In my medicated and exhausted state, I did not know how to treat it. I looked at him and thought, "It's strange that a bruise covers half of his face."

Doctors have diagnosed SWS as a disease that delays the development of blood vessels in the brain.

This condition can lead to developmental delays and Leo may develop glaucoma, a condition that can lead to blindness and seizures.

Newton and her husband immediately contacted specialists.

"The pediatrician asked us to call in specialists and our main concerns were Leo's skin, eyes and brain. I felt really stolen from the stage of birth when you just want to be at home, breastfeed, snuggle up and connect. with your baby. Instead, my husband was on the phone, phone after phone, to find a neurologist, an ophthalmologist and a dermatologist. "

"When Leo was just five days old, we went to the dermatologist," she says. I was recovering from Caesarean section and I was so tired but I wanted to be there. They advised us to start laser treatment immediately and first session of the day. They always encouraged me on the fact that he was young and resilient and that he would remember more, it was time to heal him. "

But Newton did not stay in the room with Leo during the 60 seconds of the session, nor during the following sessions, because the doctors had advised him to look with too much trouble.

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"I gave him a blanket and the nurses wrapped him up. They gave him a little protection for the eyes. There are five people in the room who hold him down while the laser zaps his skin. I hid in the bathroom. and I opened the tap because I hate to hear her crying. Afterwards, I fed him and he was fine. "

"The birthmark will never completely disappear, but the laser treatment will whiten it," she said. "We will continue until it is at least a year old."

At the age of 1 month, Leo underwent preoperative ocular surgery after the doctors diagnosed him with high eye pressure that could lead to glaucoma.

The couple also met with a neurologist to determine if Leo syndrome affected the brain.

"It was probably one of the most important appointments," Newton said. "Leo had EEGs that showed abnormal activity in his brain, although not necessarily convulsions. He had an MRI when he was only a few months old. said that he had Sturge-Weber syndrome. "

The tot now takes anti-epileptic drugs to protect against the risk of having a stroke.

"We had a lot of trouble accepting to take medication for our 3 month old child because we could not see that he had epileptic seizures," she said. "But we thought that if we did not do it, would not be able to forgive himself if he had a stroke."

Newton admitted that it took her time to understand her son's birthmark and she immediately feared that her life would be like that.

"When he was born, I did not send SMS to all my friends," she said. I was transforming so much, it took me a long time to understand what had happened. He was only two days old, it was 1 am and I was trying to breastfeed and these thoughts overwhelmed my head. Will people make fun of my child? What will happen when he goes to school? "

She has written a long article in her diary about her concerns and posted her on Instagram where she shares her experiences under the pseudonym @shawntelnewton.

She was stunned by the outpouring of support.

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"The next day, I started receiving so many e-mails from other parents with children with a stain of vinoil," she says. Today, more than 44,000 people follow his journey. Before he was born, I had 4,000 followers. Bachelor's degree, so there was already a little bit of interest to me, but it's Leo that they want to hear now. The support we received is crazy. "

"We receive parcels of foreigners and we even received a painting depicting a beautiful lion face and half of which had red dots," she said. "We now call our son Leo Leo because of his strength and bravery. I think he's going to do great things, he's such a happy baby, he always has a smile on his face, he's not picky, with everything he's going through, I'm amazed at his stamina. We hope to restore him confidence. because obviously, his face looks different, but I know he's going to rock in that birthmark. "