Kids can be cruel about what they don't understand. Sadly, many children living with medical issues learn that at a young age.
Olivia Klopchin was one of those kids. When she was just a few months old, Olivia's parents realized one of her arms appeared more swollen than the other. Initially, doctors believed it was a bruise. It would be a little while longer until Olivia's parents were given her ultimate diagnosis of venous vascular malformation.
Olivia explains that in comparison to regular veins, her veins are already wide and regularly expand. This affects her blood circulation and leads to blood clotting.
"When Olivia was first diagnosed, it was very frightening," mom Becky shared.
"We had this little tiny child and had no idea what was wrong with her."
Olivia said the meanest comments about her arm have come from people online. She remembers the first time a classmate messaged her and called her "the Hulk."
"I, back then, was very hurt by it because I'd never been called anything like that. I'd never compared myself to anything like that," she shared. "I think I'm just a beautiful person and nothing is ever going to be able to affect that."
Olivia has started sharing her story on social media to help younger people living with the same condition.
"I started posting on social media because I personally had never seen anybody with it before," she said. "I wanted to bring awareness. It's important to me because I felt lost when I was younger because the only people I'd ever seen with anything similar to me were in a hospital."
"Putting myself out there and meeting all these people meant I wasn't alone anymore," Olivia noted.
Olivia's doing a great job spreading body positivity, with over 200,00 people following her story on TikTok alone. She hopes it will help those out there like her feel a little more like everyone else.
