When @RobertHoge was born, the first thing his mom Mary asked the doctors was: "Is my baby okay?"
He wasn't. Hoge, Mary's fifth child, was born with a tumor in the middle of his face and two severely mangled legs.
This is his story 👇
He wasn't. Hoge, Mary's fifth child, was born with a tumor in the middle of his face and two severely mangled legs.
This is his story 👇
Mary refused to take her baby home because she was worried about how his difficult upbringing would affect her other children.
In her diary, she wrote: "I wished he would go away or die or something. I just wanted to be finished with it all."
In her diary, she wrote: "I wished he would go away or die or something. I just wanted to be finished with it all."
When she & her husband returned home w/o their newborn, Mary kept second-guessing her decision.
She decided to give her kids a say. She asked them to take a vote on whether they wanted Hoge to join the family.
"My brothers & sisters all voted that I should come home," he says
She decided to give her kids a say. She asked them to take a vote on whether they wanted Hoge to join the family.
"My brothers & sisters all voted that I should come home," he says
Even though he got a chance at life, it wasn't easy.
Hoge spent the majority of his childhood at hospitals where doctors attempted surgery after surgery to remove the tumor.
The procedures left him with severe deformities on his face.
Hoge spent the majority of his childhood at hospitals where doctors attempted surgery after surgery to remove the tumor.
The procedures left him with severe deformities on his face.
In school, he was taunted with a roster of nicknames like, "toothpick legs," "transformer," "Pinocchio," "toe nose," "stumpy," and "Jake the Pig."
"Those were the sorts of things that stopped me from being comfortable with my face," Hoge says.
"Those were the sorts of things that stopped me from being comfortable with my face," Hoge says.
At age 14, Hoge's parents began talking to doctors about yet another major operation that would reconstruct his nose (again).
The risk? There was 1 in a 4 chance he might become permanently blind.
So his parents said, "You're almost an adult. We'll let you make this decision."
The risk? There was 1 in a 4 chance he might become permanently blind.
So his parents said, "You're almost an adult. We'll let you make this decision."
For the first time since his birth, the fate of his face was in Hoge's own hands.
He struggled with the decision until he heard his brother say, “What use is it being pretty if he can’t even see himself?”
He struggled with the decision until he heard his brother say, “What use is it being pretty if he can’t even see himself?”
He declined the surgery, and from that day on, Hoge has focused on accepting all the "ugly" things that made him who he is.
"If you try to separate me from my scars before even engaging me in a discussion about the issue, I may as well have never existed in the first place."
"If you try to separate me from my scars before even engaging me in a discussion about the issue, I may as well have never existed in the first place."
Despite everything he's been through, Hoge has led a beautifully remarkable life.
He was the first person in his family to go to college. He became a journalist & then the spokesperson for a politician.
He carried the Olympic Torch. He’s been married & he has two daughters.
He was the first person in his family to go to college. He became a journalist & then the spokesperson for a politician.
He carried the Olympic Torch. He’s been married & he has two daughters.
"Beauty is a contested space. Notions of what is or isn’t beautiful are constantly changing. Beauty isn’t the end point of a treasure map; it’s actually a million different destinations, with a million different ways of getting there."
Read his story 👇:
theprofile.substack.com/p/robert-hoge
Read his story 👇:
theprofile.substack.com/p/robert-hoge
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