[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

I used to babysit for a family of five boys. All five were born with a sixth finger on their left hands. The parents had the extra finger removed while they were still at the hospital.

I always wonder, in cases like this. Is this kid going to grow up and resent mom and dad for amputating something unique and special about him? Or is the kid going to grow up and resent mom and dad for letting him go through school getting teased for having 6 digits?

I did Civil Air Patrol with a girl whose leg was amputated above the knee. She had a prosthetic leg. When she was born, she had clubfoot, so her parents were faced with the decision to either amputate or let her grow up with a malformed, not very functional left leg.

I just don't know how parents make decisions like this for their kids (decisions that the kids should be making for themselves... if they weren't kids.) That's got to be so hard to imagine your child as an adult and then imagine what his/her preference would've been.