Teen dedicates Instagram account to adventures of her malformed hand

An Iowa teenager isn't letting her malformed hand stop her from living her life — and even getting some laughs along the way.

Haylee Gardner, 16, of Macksburg, is missing fingers due to amniotic band syndrome, which cut off blood flow to her left hand while she was in the womb.

But unlike many teens her age struggling to fit in and blend in, Haylee is happy to show off what makes her stand out, and has created a whole Instagram account dedicated to funny pictures of her hand with a drawn-on face. 

Amniotic band syndrome is a rare condition caused by strands of the amniotic sac separating and entangling parts of the fetus. Physical birth defects can occur if those strands become wrapped around the digits, arms, legs, head or face, and internal organs can be affected.

In Haylee's case, the condition resulted in her being born with a deformed left hand, with tiny nubs for fingers.

But Haylee has learned to love her malformation, and has even given her 'little hand' a life of its own by doodling eyes and a smile on it with marker and nicknaming it 'Fred'.

The high schooler has also created an Instagram page dedicated to the hand, posing in a range of funny scenarios.

Haylee said: 'When I was younger I would get bored and draw on myself. I would draw mostly faces and I noticed my thumb kind of looked like a nose and the other ones looked kind of like a mohawk.'

Real-life: Haylee has staged photoshoots showing 'Fred' in a range of real-life scenarios, including driving a car, traveling on a plane, playing scrabble and blowing bubbles +15

Real-life: Haylee has staged photoshoots showing 'Fred' in a range of real-life scenarios, including driving a car, traveling on a plane, playing scrabble and blowing bubbles

'My mom really stressed when I was growing up that I shouldn't be afraid of showing it to people or hiding it. I drew on it a whole bunch because my friends thought it was really funny and one of them suggested I make an Instagram account.'

'Normally if I'm walking around and looking at stuff in my bedroom, I'll think, "Oh, how could I make this into a funny face." I have to take the picture and work my hand around so it is sometimes a struggle.'

Haylee has staged photoshoots showing 'Fred' in a range of real-life scenarios including driving a car, traveling on a plane, playing scrabble, and blowing bubbles.

The teen hopes the profile, @littlehandfred, will raise awareness about limb difference in addition to giving her followers a giggle.

But despite her good intentions, Haylee, who lives with mom Tricia, 43, a and dad James, 50, said her hand sometimes draws unwanted attention.

But the teenager has learned to be confident thanks to support from her parents and wants to encourage people wondering about her hand to simply ask if they have any questions instead of staring. 

'I had one bully when I was at school who was really nasty to me,' she said. 'Mostly it is little children staring, which doesn't bother me as much, but then their parents shoo them away.'

'If they would just come up to me I would gladly tell them,' she added. 'I hope my page will make people laugh, but I also hope people, when they see someone like me in public, will have known this is a thing before that moment. Hopefully they won't be as likely to stare or point.'

What is Amniotic Band Syndrome?

Amniotic Band Syndrome occurs when the unborn baby (fetus) becomes entangled in fibrous string-like amniotic bands in the womb, restricting blood flow and affecting the baby’s development.

It can cause a number of different birth defects depending on which body part(s) is affected. If a band wraps tightly around a limb, the limb can actually be completely amputated. The baby may be born missing fingers, toes, or part of an arm or leg. If the band is across the baby’s face, it can cause cleft lip and palate.

In a large number of cases the baby is also born with clubfeet. ABS is also the cause of numerous miscarriages, such as when a band becomes wrapped around the umbilical cord.

ABS occurs randomly. It’s not genetic, nor is it caused by anything a pregnant Mom did or didn’t do during pregnancy. To date, no prenatal factors have been associated with ABS.

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