RURAL NORTHERN INDIANA YOUTH SENDS A MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC

Francis Smith, born without ears, chin, teeth or eye sockets, overcame classmates' teasing.

When a baby is born, one of the first things parents do is take pictures and show them to relatives and friends. In Francis Smith's case, his parents had other things on their minds.

Smith, now 19 years old, was born with a craniofacial disorder called Treacher Collins Syndrome. Treacher Collins is a condition in which the cheekbones and jawbone are underdeveloped. The ears are often abnormal or missing.

Treacher Collins does not really affect the intelligence or psychological development. Most kids with this disorder are of average or above average intelligence. They also have normal life expectancies. But there are physical complications.

"Something did not develop right when I was born. I was born with no ears or chin or teeth or eye sockets. I have hearing problems and sight problems and chewing problems," Smith said in an interview at Conner Prairie, where he was attending Cher's Family Retreat for families of children with craniofacial disorders.

Smith's birth parents weren't able to cope with his condition and placed him in foster care soon after his birth. At age 2 1/2, he was taken in by Betty and Bob Smith, who adopted him about five years ago. He lives with his family in Garrett, a small town about 40 miles north of Fort Wayne.

Physical difficulties

Smith has had more than 30 operations. He is 90 percent blind in his right eye and uses a special hearing device.

"Ever since I was born, I've had tracheotomies (an opening in the throat to help me breathe) and reconstructive surgery on my eyes and my cheeks and my eye orbits and totally involving new ears," he said. "I have a hearing aid magnet put in so this coil could attach to it. It's a phone hearing aid."

Smith is going to Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. He likes to collect old medical equipment and would like to be a doctor specializing in craniofacial surgery.

He's had plenty of experiences in the field.

"I witnessed a number of surgeries. All of these surgeries have dealt with craniofacial problems," he explained.

"One of them was a seven-hour operation where the doctor had to realign both jaws by prying both of them apart and moving apart and rotating them and making a chin with the bottom part of the jaw. And in another operation they had to carve away a half-moon shape piece of the skull called the cranium. They exposed the brain, and so I saw the brain for the first time."

Smith has a few physical restrictions.

"I can be in water and I can ride a bike. I'm not a very good swimmer, I can't really float, (but) there's no restrictions against swimming.

No contact sports

"There is restrictions with contact sports like football (and) soccer because they're very rough and they can damage the good eye or face, so I'm avoiding those kind of sports."

Smith still has problems while eating.

"Chewing is a problem for me and my air passages sometimes get blocked by food, so I have to watch how fast I eat and I cannot eat candy or steak or anything of that hardness."

He told us that in junior high he was badly teased by his classmates, some of whom physically abused him. He's also had stares and rude remarks from kids in public.

Subjected to teasing

"People sometimes stare at me, sometimes they point at me, sometimes remark to their mothers like. `What a strange kid he looks like.' But basically it's what I get, stares, remarks. People who are interested in what I look like."

However, he does not like to be pitied and he feels offended that people will try to give him royal treatment.

"(They think) I'm an invalid or something."

Smith does have a message for the public:

"Take a closer look. Take a look inside of the person - that person's alive.

"Look at the real self instead of just the outside."

EDITED BY: Tony Dale, 14