Source: Getty Images
Parents of a two-year-old with cranial facial differences say they found ‘their normal’ after watching an inspirational documentary on Barcroft TV.
When their daughter Nova Hunia was born with severely reduced hearing and breathing difficulties, the couple desperately searched the internet to find out how their future would look. The pair, Acacia Hunia, 30, and Joseph Hunia, 29, from Wellington, New Zealand discovered Barcroft TV and were moved by an inspirational beauty vlogger named Marimar Quiora. The film made the young parents realise that although Nova’s facial differences may describe her, they won’t define her. Acacia told Barcroft TV: ‘It was really overwhelming at first because you have this idea of what your life is going to be like with a child. Then Nova came, and everything is just completely different. ‘For us it was kind of like, where do we fit in?, how am I going to know if Nova is going to have a good life? I needed to find somebody that was similar. ‘I found myself on Barcroft TV and there’s this one woman with a facial difference and she’s just living her best life and she doesn’t care. ‘Seeing a video like that for me was just amazing and I was like, this could be us, this could be Nova.’
Having Nova, learning about parenthood and caring for a child with a disability have taught the couple a myriad of new lessons in life. Acacia said: ‘Having a child with a physical difference has taught us to be kind. Be kind to others, be kind to ourselves.’ ‘This is probably a motto of ours now, it’s just be kind,’ added Joseph. ‘The biggest lesson we’ve learned with Nova is patience. It’s a massive one for us, we are always waiting in hospitals, waiting on information, waiting on just learning new things.’
Although Nova’s development is slightly behind for her age group the couple are impressed with the improvements their little daughter makes daily and celebrate each milestone. Most recently, Nova’s walking has been a huge source of joy for the parents. Joseph told Barcroft TV: ‘One area we’ve seen huge leaps for Nova is her motor skills. ‘She really developed her walking; she’s always had really good fine motor skills. But lately, it’s just been running, trying to jump and lots of new signs’. Acacia said: ‘I think because she took so long to crawl, she went straight into bum shuffling but that was only after her first birthday. ‘When we finally got her to walk, I was amazed.’
After watching the inspiring film about the beauty vlogger, the parents believe the sky’s the limit for Nova. The couple have a new sense of hope Nova’s future will be bright and filled with laughter. Joseph told Barcroft TV, ‘Our hopes for Nova’s future is that she just lives life to the fullest. ‘She is confident in who she is and just embraces life. She meets new people, learns life skills and just really gets on her with her full enjoyable life.’ Acacia added: ‘I want Nova’s story to inspire others because although her facial difference may describe her, it doesn’t define her.’
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
