HE - MAN - GEE - O - MA
Hemangioma according to drgreene.com are:
"tufts of extra blood vessels that commonly occur in children.... A capillary hemangioma is a bright red birthmark that can sometimes be the most noticeable feature of a little baby. Hemangiomas often don't appear until a baby is a month old, and can continue to grow throughout infancy. Some are cute; some are large and unsightly. Thankfully, most will disappear on their own within about 2 years.... Whether hemangiomas are treated or not, babies deserve to have parents and others look at them with wonder and delight."

Here is what hemangiomas are to me:
A slight discoloring at birth on Ellie's left arm, that after the first few weeks had reddened and become more predominant. At birth, no one seemed bothered by the skin, so I didn't let it bother me. At about one month old, it had been worrying Abbie to the point to specifically bring it up to the pediatrician. She referred us to a local dermatologist that is also a pediatrician. I still did not think much of it, until Abbie called me in tears after meeting with the specialist. At this point hemangioma still had not been mentioned specifically. Instead the dermatologist gave us three possibilities; port wine stain, Klippel-Trenauncy Syndrome, or Parkes Weber Syndrome. Two of the three options were scary to the point of panicking. The least detrimental was the port wine stain, which is simply a permanent birthmark. It is the blood red birthmark that Boris Yeltsin has on his forehead. The local specialist told Abbie to "wait and keep an eye on it" which was not what any of us wanted to hear.

Last Monday we went to Phoenix Children's Hospital and met with an expert doctor who gave us this deadly sounding word, hemangioma. Basically, he said that it is nothing at all like the previous horrific possible diagnosis'. Instead, it is a tuft of extra blood vessels, that will go away in time. We have the option of laser surgery, but are not pressed to have to make an immediate decision, and will not until after the holidays.

Ellie is fine otherwise. And now, so are we.

Now, the word reminds me of a "Little Rascals" episode where Spanky and the gang decide to make a new, all boys club called, "The He-Man, Woman Hater's Club".