Dallas Fowler's little boy Jameus was born with a rare disease called Hirschsprung's disease - a condition that causes faeces to become stuck in the bowels.
For that reason, he has two stomas. Stomas are surgically created openings in the front of the abdomen, which divert waste into a bag that sticks to the stomach.
"He was born and wouldn't nurse, and wouldn't go to the bathroom, and I was telling the nurses, from about the time he was five hours old, that something was wrong," she told wmbfnew.com.
"They took him and did an x-ray of his abdomen. They came back into the room and their exact words were 'we have trouble. The helicopter is on the way.'"
Before long, he was fitted with the bags, which basically saved his life. Since then, Jameus has lived a normal life.
Usually, Jameus's stoma bags are kept in place using a onesie worn under his clothes. This keeps them secure and also prevents Jameus pulling on them.
But recently, Dallas was in a rush to get to her local supermarket, so she didn't have time to dress him in his normal clothes, meaning his bags were covered simply by his t-shirt.
At the supermarket, little Jameus began crying out for his mum to hold him, and an older woman queuing in front of them noticed the bags.
The woman, repulsed by the bags, felt the need to comment, and left mum Dallas distraught.
In a Facebook post, shared by over 3,000 people so far, Dallas wrote:
"She shrieked 'why in the world would you let someone do that to him?' I turned around speechless and just looked at her before she continued and asked why he had them. I gave her the short version and basically said 'his colon didn't finish forming so he needed them.'"
Not wanting to go into detail about her son's condition, caught off-guard as she was, Dallas shocked when the woman expressed her disgust.
"She then goes 'well, I am sorry but I just think that is so repulsing, can you please keep his shirt down?'"
"At this point, I just wanted to shake this woman and scream 'what is wrong with you?' But instead I told her to have a good night and went to another line."
However, once home, Dallas realised she should have spoken up and defended her son, so it was at this point that she took to Facebook to talk about the awful experience.
"So now I'm sharing this picture, because there is nothing repulsing about my son," she wrote. "Stomas...seem to be a taboo, when in reality, over 500,000 Americans have one. My son's disease may be rare but his stomas are not."
Continuing, Dallas highlighted the fact that neither she nor her son chose for him to have this disease.
"Was this the first choice of a life I would have chosen for my son? Absolutely not. But this was his only shot at life. When he was 2 weeks old, his colon ruptured. It left him with a life threatening infection that nearly killed him."
Despite his difficulties, little Jameus is a very positive, happy little boy.
"He runs around and he plays and we go to the beach in the summer and he swims in a pool and he goes to daycare and he throws temper tantrums like a normal 2-year-old," she said.
However, Dallas is acutely aware that her son's body image will depend partly on his life experiences.
"There is a very good chance he will have these for the rest of his life and if he does, it will be my job to teach him a positive body image. (As its all parents jobs to do that). It will be my job to teach him to love himself, and his bags."
For that reason, she's urging people to think before they speak.
"Please be kind and choose your words wisely, especially should you choose to comment about something that is none of your business," she wrote.
"Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about, and my son is winning his."
Dallas is thankful that Jameus is too young to understand the stranger's comments, but worries how they might have affected him if he'd been just a few years older.
"Had he been a couple years older and been able to understand the ignorance the lady was spewing in line behind us, how much of a negative impact do you think that would have had on him?"
A Go Fund Me page has been created to help the family with medical expenses. As of Friday evening, approximately $3,483 had been raised. To donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/babyjameus.
You can read Dallas's post in full below.
Tonight, we were in Walmart standing in a long line waiting to check out. My sweet 2 year old wanted me to hold him. As...
Posted by Dallas Fowler on Wednesday, April 6, 2016
