Something extremely special happened to me while chowing down on Thai food last night with my mom — and it wasn’t just inhaling the world’s tastiest lettuce wraps.
But first, let me set the scene.
When I was just a very wee babe drinking from a bottle, my mom noticed something ‘unusual’ about me.
You see, each time I would take a sip of milk, I appeared to be winking at her from my left eye.
A trip to the optometrist revealed that I wasn’t gifted. Sorry Mom.
I had been born with Marcus Gunn Jaw-Winking Syndrome — a rare condition characterized as a synkinesis: when two or more muscles that are independently innervated have either simultaneous or coordinated movements.
Check out my video to see it in action.
This often occurs while sucking or chewing — or in my case, chowing down on spicy drunken noodles at Ban Chok Dee.
Mid-noodle slurp, a man and his young daughter approached our booth.
“Excuse me, I hope this doesn’t sound strange but we couldn’t help but notice your jaw wink,” he said, also revealing that his beautiful six-year-old daughter had been diagnosed with it as a baby too.
I was stunned, didn’t know what to say.
Instead, I looked at the young girl, and did the first thing that came to mind — moved my jaw from side-to-side to unleash the wink.
The miraculous moment was when she joined in. There was a good 30 seconds of eye winking happening in that crowded booth, followed by giggles, as her dad and my mom watched in amazement.
While I’ve heard there others like us out there, this was the first time in 34 years that I’ve met someone in person.
Before I paid my bill, I headed to their table to let the family know about this blog so that they could read a column that I had written about living with the condition, which you can below:
LEARN TO LOVE WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE
To the mom, dad and daughter last night – thank you so much for coming up and saying hello. It was a special moment that I’ll never forget. I hope you stay in touch xo
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.thevalleymom.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/13621326_10154196499215359_2104428602_o.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]One of Vancouver’s top Mommy Bloggers, Kristyl Clark resides in the beautiful Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada surrounded by lush countryside, urban shopping centers, wineries and parks. This work-at-home mom of two little Valley girls is proving there is nothing bland about the burbs. This adventurous family seems to always be out on some sort of crazy quest, from helicopter rides and wild river rafting, to top-secret paranormal investigations and living the high-life sampling the fine wines and foods of the Fraser Valley region. Kristyl also publishes a monthly column in Black Press publications throughout Metro Vancouver titled ‘Pink Laundry’. The ValleyMom.ca blog inspires her loyal fanbase through the trials and tribulations of suburban family living, guiding readers to local hotspots and hidden gems in her Canadian backyard.[/author_info] [/author]
