ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607010085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
SOURCE: Associated Press
Chelsey Thomas wore her brand-new smile and prized tennis shoes Saturday as she celebrated her eighth birthday with cakes, balloons, a clown and a chauffeured trip to Disneyland.
Although Chelsey was born without the ability to grin, thanks to recent surgery she smiled a lot as she celebrated at a San Fernando Valley park with friends from school and her Brownie troop.
Aside from a need for dental braces, Chelsey's operations are behind her.
``It's better than we could have hoped for,'' said her mother, Lori. ``This is the best birthday she's ever had, absolutely.''
Chelsey was born without a nerve that transmits commands to facial muscles used for smiling. The condition, called Moebius syndrome, afflicts about 1,000 people in the United States.
Operations in December and April grafted muscles and nerves from her leg to the facial muscles used for chewing and biting.
Now, with a little thought, the blond, blue-eyed youngster from Palmdale can smile.
``The smile looks great,'' her mother said. ``It looks very natural. She still has to work at it. It's not spontaneous yet, but perhaps in a year it should be.
``I ask her quite often to smile, just to see it,'' she said. ``Now, when somebody's taking her picture, she does it without being asked.''
She got a stack of birthday presents but ``I just can't open them,'' Chelsey said by telephone from Shadow Ranch Park.
She sported a new pair of red tennis shoes, the only thing she had asked for besides her smile, her mother said.
After the morning party, Disneyland provided a limousine to take the family to the Anaheim theme park for a private birthday party.
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