When La Tavares Feer’s parents made the decision to travel 6,000 miles in the hope of helping their daughter, she was just eight months old. In 2019, she flew to Saudi Arabia after her parents gave their consent, but she had to return to the US weeks before her wedding due to the necessity of flying back. She has a medical condition related to seizures.
Luna’s facial mark is medically known as Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus (GCMN), which is a type of skin disorder. She had been receiving treatment in the city of Krasnodar in the Russian Federal subject of Krasnodar Krai. This condition affects only about 1.5 percent of the world’s population and puts sufferers at an increased risk of developing a cancerous melanoma. It took doctors six days to diagnose Luna’s condition after her initial symptoms appeared in March 2019.
Carol expressed, “I was in complete shock. When Luna was first born, nobody in the room knew what the condition was. My last ultrasound before the birth had revealed nothing abnormal. I also receive a lot of encouragement from people who tell me Luna is beautiful. When people say that she looks like the Batman superhero or a butterfly, that makes me happy. Luna is doing great. She’s making a lot of new discoveries, trying to walk, dance, and copying everything I do…” Two years ago, a Russian surgeon contacted her parents to say he could help. However, disappointment struck the family as their visa ran out, forcing them to return to the US.
They were forced to postpone the last operation and return home. Now, they face an agonizing wait to find out when they can go back so Luna can undergo the final procedure. Carol, the girls’ mother, announced their return home through a post on her Instagram page.
She said, “We had three days to buy the flight ticket and come back home because our visa expired yesterday. I thought we would be able to finish all the surgeries, but no. Now it’s time to wait for authorization from the Russian Consulate to go back soon.” Doctors explained that there is complexity involved because Luna’s nevus has grown into her eyebrows, and they will need to be removed. However, they reassured that these difficulties are temporary, and Luna will return for the final procedures.
Luna was born in South Florida in the US with a congenital melanocytic nevus, which is a rare type of skin disorder. This condition left her with a dark mark across her face, earning her the nickname ‘Batman’ girl. Carol had previously been informed by American doctors that removing the mark would require a series of approximately 100 high-risk operations using lasers.
However, after Luna’s story garnered international attention, her parents were contacted by a Russian surgeon who offered to perform pioneering treatment using laser photo dynamic therapy.