“One magical afternoon in a hospital ward, Mui saw me and screamed and I fell in love with her”

6 July 2021 rmedcalf PEOPLE 0

^{Tina and Rog Thomas}

Tina and Rog Thomas have written a book about the couple’s experiences with their adopted girl, Mui, who suffers from a rare genetic skin disorder. The much admired Sai Kung family are now looking for a publisher of the book,
“An Unexpected Adoption: The Girl Behind the Face.”

Mui’s disorder is termed Harlequin Ichthyosis. It causes an infant to be born with plates of thick skin that crack and split apart. A young woman now, Mui has qualified as a yoga teacher and rugby referee. She is frequently seen about town where most people greet her with big smiles and greetings. Mui is quite the Sai Kung hero. She says about the book, “Sharing our story is our response to the cyberbullies who taunted me to kill myself.”

^{Tina and Mui just after the adoption}

The Thomas family put a lot of time into campaigning against cyberbullying, prejudice and discrimination. Through StandUp4Others and with international talks, pre-Covid, they have worked to promote understanding and acceptance of visible and non-visible difference across society.

In the book, Tina writes, “Once upon a time I met an abandoned baby girl hidden away on the fringes of society because of her appearance . . . One magical afternoon in a hospital ward, Mui saw me and screamed and I fell in love with her, and then the hard work began. I was 26 years old and fearlessly determined to fight for her.”

Mui writes, “People think our story is, ‘Girl with red skin, they saved her’. That’s so wrong, my skin doesn’t define me, and may parents did not save me. My parents once gave a speech about adoption and my Mum said afterwards, ‘Adopting Mui was like an unexpected pregnancy, she’s our unexpected adoption’. This book is definitely a rollercoaster ride, but if it is too much reality for you then just imagine what it is like for me and my parents!”

The late Sir David Tang is quoted in the book: “As a family, of whom I am an admiring friend, you cannot get a more decent and loving and compassionate example than the Thomases, all of whom deserve our utter admiration.”