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Grayson Smith, now three years old, was born with 22 birth defects. In his short life, he has suffered everything from epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and occipital encephalocele, a medical condition where a person’s brain protrudes outside of their skull.
In hopes of prolonging and improving his quality of life, doctors have operated 24 times on Grayson’s brain and skull. While his condition can never be completely fixed, Grayson is “full of life” and has already lived years beyond what his doctors imagined.
Grayson’s parents, Jenny and Kendyl, have created online pages for their son on YouCaring and Facebook, where they share stories of Grayson’s life and photos of his growth. He has over 15k fans on Facebook, all of whom offer their love and support on every post.
Just last month, however, one of these Facebook fans sent Jenny a message, notifying her that someone online had taken a photo of Grayson – from their Facebook page – and made it into an incredibly cruel meme.
"I was speechless and, honestly, didn't know what to think or feel at that moment," Smith recalled upon the moment she heard the news. "We were kind of horrified someone could be so cruel."
Smith wasted no time in Google searching the image and tracking down various sites on which it had been shared. She then contacted each place, asking them to kindly take down the offensive photo of her son.
Some sites did so, but others just didn’t respond.
"My husband and I are trying to use it as a positive example," Smith explained. "No. 1, to let other families know that it can happen to them and, No. 2, try to educate people of children with special needs and that terminally ill children are not to be used for a gag or a laugh. This is someone's child and personal photo and not to be made into a joke."
