Zahnee Campbell, 9, who was born with a rare birthmark, is passionate about her pets, including her beloved dog, Lindy. Photo / Alan Gibson
A Tauranga girl, born with a rare birthmark that covers parts of her face, eyes and nose, has set her sights on a conference in California where she can meet medical professionals specialising in her condition.
Zahnee Campbell, 9, was first featured in the Herald several years ago when fundraising
money for surgery to treat her birthmark - a facial vascular hemangioma tumour, which grows both on the surface of her skin and beneath it.
The mark, which is associated with Phace syndrome, affected her sight, co-ordination, caused headaches and painful pressure on her shoulders.
Zahnee's mum, Jade Riley, said that while the surgery had alleviated the symptoms and improved her daughter's sight, she was still living with the effects of the syndrome.
"She has headaches, exhaustion and struggles with her eye being the way that it is, with the mild facial deformity," she said. "She gets a lot of comments about her face ... she struggles ... people do say things."
