An interview with 'Daniel Danger'
If you ever pass through Queensway to visit our office, you may have to negotiate the building works going on in the area. Hundreds of workmen are busy gentrifying the W2 postcode. Among them is Daniel Moloney, a 20-year old from Co Cork currently in London to earn funds to see him through college next year.
At first Daniel comes across like any other young man. However, this bubbly builder is affected by Cystic Hygroma - an extremely rare condition which results in a facial disfigurement. Daniel has undergone almost 30 operations to gradually remove some 90% of protruding mass from the left side of his face and neck. When only a toddler, surgeons had to perform an emergency operation to assist him with his breathing - and a special tube was implanted in his throat to aid his respiration - a procedure known as tracheostomy.
Despite almost two decades of hospital stays, surgeries and treatments of all kinds, Daniel remains joyful and optimistic about the future. He is in fact looking forward to his next and hopefully final procedure later this year. Throughout his teens as his body developed, so did his cyst. Past surgeries managed to contain the condition, but the cyst kept growing back. But now, with his adolescent growth spurts out of the way, doctors can remove the Cystic Hygroma once and for all. Daniel’s face will achieve more symmetry this way and his tracheostomy will finally come out too.
For people affected by a facial disfigurement, social interactions can prove challenging at times; we all seem to make judgements about people around us on the basis of how they look like. When somebody does not look the way we do, some people may experience and act out feelings of ‘superiority’.
“As a child I accepted that I looked different - I had no choice but to learn how to live with this facial condition,” says Daniel quite matter-of-factly.
“I felt isolated for a long time and unable to see a lot of my friends. I would say this was not only due to the way I looked, but also because of some behavioural issues - I have autism. I felt lonely for a number of years.”
Bullying at school is common practice. There are in fact many different ways in which bullying is inflicted upon children. Schools these days should have a standards of behaviour policy in place to include measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. Yet, many incidents continue to occur under the nose of educators.
“All through secondary school, there was a group of children who would mock things I liked the most, in particular a TV show I liked, and they would mock me both inside and outside of school” Daniel recalls.
“Given a chance, I would like to talk to them now that I am older. I would like to ask if I ever did anything wrong to deserve the way they treated me. If that was ever the case, I would apologise to make up with them,” he continues, demonstrating his optimistic outlook on life. Furthermore, Daniel has made huge progress over the past couple years - becoming a highly independent young man busy discouvering life.
"I just want to be treated like a person who doesn’t need a ton of help and attention. I would like to be treated like everyone else," he says looking at the future.
Daniel values the importance of friendship in a special way. Developing friendships between operations was not easy and Daniel is highly appreciative of those who made convalescence an easier process, “My friends helped me out so much and I feel they made me a better person. Especially some of the friends from secondary school. They are the most important thing to me.”
The young Irishman has a hidden passion - well, not so hidden anymore. Daniel loves video games, cartoons - especially anime - to the point that he is learning to direct animation. He is also proud to have accepted a place at St John’s College to study Creative Digital Media, “I would love to be able to start my own animated series based on Daniel Danger - a fictional character I created. I aim to make it have the same kind of feel as an anime.”
However, what Daniel wants the most is to be able to promote a better understanding of Cystic Hygroma. Living with a face that looks different can be a challenge both for children and adults. Whilst it is natural for people to be curious, people staring and asking uncomfortable questions can make those with disfigurements uneasy.
“I wish to help other people become more comfortable with their facial disfigurements. At the same time, I would like to invite society to be more respectful towards anyone who is going through a tough time. It is not easy to live with Cystic Hygroma.
“I also hope that this article may inspire others to strive forward, to realise their dreams. Nurture relationships and reach out to friends because life with no friends can be the biggest challenge of all!”
You can follow Daniel Moloney's blog here - Youtube channel here
Main photo by Grace Lambert-Phillips
On 21st Nov 2019 Daniel Moloney graduated in TV & Film Production from St John’s College, Cork, Ireland
