Tessa Evans, who was born on February 14, 2013, was born without a nose, a rare condition that has sparked admiration and affection from her family and people around the world.
Tessa’s unique condition is known as Bosma Arhinia Microphthalmia Syndrome (BAMS) and there are fewer than 100 documented cases worldwide. Despite the rarity and complexity of her condition, her mother praises Tessa’s “charming” behavior and her “remarkable courage”.
Eight years into her journey, Tessa has become a symbol of resilience. She continues to do well and embrace life to the fullest, despite the challenges presented by her condition, which includes the inability to smell or breathe through her nose.
However, she can still cough, sneeze and catch colds. “It was pretty amusing the first time she sneezed”, recalls her father Nathan, “but we realized it was actually coming from her chest, which was a small but reassuring sign of normality”.
Tessa’s parents, Grainne and Nathan Evans, were stunned when their Valentine’s baby was born without a nose as the pregnancy was uneventful and there were no signs of problems.
A native of Maghera, Ireland, Tessa’s condition required immediate medical intervention. At less than two weeks old, she underwent surgery to insert a tracheostomy tube so she could eat and sleep comfortably.
At just two years old, Tessa achieved a medical milestone when she became the first person to receive a cosmetic nasal implant, marking a significant advance in the field and a remarkable solution to her rare condition.
She was frequently beaten by her husband, so she left the house with her kids.
Cara Brookins was left emotionally broken when her second abusive marriage ended. She got well by building her own house, which she did after seeing YouTube videos on how to do it.
The mother of four started looking for a new house in 2007 after being forced to sell the Bryant, Arkansas, home she and her soon-to-be ex shared. At the moment, though, anything the computer programmer analyst could afford was too tiny. Brookins too felt obliged to take action to bring her family back together. She admits, “But I had no idea what that should be.”
Brookins, therefore, came up with the idea to build her own house from the ground up. According to Brookins, 45, “If anyone was in our situation, they wouldn’t do this.” “No one else viewed it this way, and now that I think about it, I understand it sounds crazy.”
One acre of property cost Brookins $20,000, and she obtained a building credit for about $150,000. She then started watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do things like run a gas line, build a wall, lay a foundation, and install plumbing.
Her children, ages 2 to 17, helped her throughout the nine-month construction of the 3,500-square-foot home. At the time, Drew, who was 15 years old, helped Brookins make the preparations. Jada, who was 11 at the time, transported water from a neighbor’s pond using buckets because there was no running water on the property. She then combined the water with 80-pound sacks of concrete to create the mortar for the foundation.
It felt impossible the entire time, according to Brookins, who worked when the kids were in school. After school, Brookins drove her family to the five-mile-away construction site where she worked late into the night on the new house.
YouTube videos previously were vague and provided numerous solutions to a task. Brookins employed a part-time firefighter with building experience for $25 per hour to help with some of the more challenging tasks. She remembers, “He was a step ahead of us in knowledge.”
On March 31, 2009, Brookins and her kids moved into the five-bedroom home. She gave it the name Inkwell Manor in recognition of her desire to become a writer.
In the years afterwards, Brookins has written numerous middle grade and young adult books. She has also written a biography titled Rise: How a House Built a Family, which will be released on January 24.
Building the house helped Brookins emerge from her depression. We were ashamed that our best option was to construct our own shelter, Brookins adds. “We weren’t really proud of it,” In the end, it proved to be the best thing I could have done for myself.
She says, “You can do anything you set your mind to if I, a 110 pound computer programmer, can build a complete house.” Choose one goal and stay with it. Find the big thing you want to do, move slowly in that direction, and take those who also need healing with you. That has a lot of influence.
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