Karen’s mother’s screams were met with silence when she discovered her daughter’s extra thumb.

Karen Wheildon was a few days old when her mother took off her gloves and discovered she had an extra thumb.

It was the winter of 1962 in the Queensland town of Esk, just over an hour northwest of Brisbane.

The doctors and nurses either failed to grasp the extra digit or deliberately kept the knowledge hidden under the mitten.

His mother’s cries for answers were met with silence.

Anthony Albanese spoke to Karen Wheildon after apologizing.(
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)

The cause was later revealed to be thalidomide, an ingredient in a sedative drug commonly prescribed to pregnant women in the 1950s and 1960s.

Karen’s mother only took two of the morning sickness pills during her pregnancy.

More than 60 years later, the Australian Parliament issued a national apology to survivors and their families.

There are 146 thalidomide survivors registered in the support program in Australia, but the total number affected is unknown.

Lisa McManus was among the thalidomide survivors who attended the national apology.(
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)

For survivors and their families, the apology is a momentous step, but the consequences continue to affect the way they live their lives.

For Queensland grandmother Karen, that has meant constant pain and an arthritis-ridden left hand where her 11th finger once was.

She recognizes that other people have more visible disabilities, but the consequences for her have been lifelong.

Anthony Albanese delivering the national apology.(
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)

Just two weeks after Karen came into the world in that small hospital, her parents shelled out a considerable sum of money for a risky operation to remove her extra finger.

His search for answers has also yielded few results.

“No one was going to be responsible for it,” he said.

“They didn’t know what happened and all my records have been destroyed.”

At school, Karen was made fun of.

She was later fired from her job at the bank because she had difficulty counting money with her left hand while writing with her right.

Karen Wheildon’s granddaughter wipes away a tear as they listen to the national apology.(
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)

She said the apology was an emotional event for her, her daughter and granddaughter, who watched from the public gallery of the House of Representatives.

They were joined by about 80 fellow survivors and family members as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologized for the systemic failure.

“There was no system to properly assess the safety of drugs, and the terrible cruelty of thalidomide is that, far from being safe, a single dose was enough to cause devastating harm,” he said.

Around 80 survivors and family members attended the national apology event.(
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)

“Just one dose was enough to inflict lifelong damage to a fetus or indeed cause premature death either in utero or in the years to come.

“We are sorry more than we can say.

“We are sorry for the harm, pain and hardship you have endured.

“We are sorry for all the cruelty you have had to endure.”

Thalidomide was prescribed to pregnant women during the 1950s and 1960s.(
ABC News: Matt Roberts
)

That apology was the result of a long campaign championed by Lisa McManus, another thalidomide survivor.

His mother was prescribed the medication after the government was already aware of the consequences.

“I was one of the babies who were conceived and affected by thalidomide at the time when the government knew about its effects but decided to do nothing,” he said.

“We lived this tragedy. We lived this tragedy and that was recognized today.

“Getting this far is incredible, but we will continue to watch closely.”