In the seven-minute video, which she made using her iPhone, the 25-year-old mother from Woodbury, Tenn., describes the triumph of witnessing 14-month-old Christian's giggles in the face of the constant stares and whispers they encounter in public when strangers see her baby.
He was born with an an extremely rare condition called Tessier cleft, which means that he was unable to fully close his mouth, and that his eyes are also clefted such that they never even formed.
Buchanan, who works at a day care center and also attends the Nashville School of Law, said she made the video about their struggle because she wanted her son "to grow up knowing he's important, knowing he has value, despite the way that he looks," Buchanan said.
