Doctors Were Terrified When This Girl Was Born Year Later What Happened Left PEOPLE in a Shock
“When Katie was born, the doctors were terrified because she looked hideous. Several years and surgeries later, her life has changed beyond the doctors’ predictions. This is how she looks now:
Katie needed a cesarean section because her head was too big for a regular delivery. She had an oversized head and a small body, making her quite unique. The doctors found her appearance puzzling, as her head was oddly shaped, her cheeks were enormous, and her tongue peeked out between her lips. Her ears looked like tiny rolled tubes, and her eyes and nose were small.
Katie’s mom, Angie, had been under anesthesia when her daughter was born. The doctors had attended to her and then let her sleep for a few hours to regain her strength. They didn’t immediately show her the baby because they weren’t sure how she would react to the child’s unusual appearance. However, they were certain some rest would help her process the news better.
Her husband, Daniel, had been the one who saw Katie first. For the first few seconds, he couldn’t utter a word; he just stood still as his thoughts ran wild. When Angie eventually woke up, Daniel brought Katie to her. She was placed in a fluffy warm blanket and was sleeping peacefully. The moment Angie laid eyes on her baby girl, she was equally shellshocked. She covered her mouth with her hands, and tears streamed down her cheeks. But these feelings of fear and despair soon gave way to joy, love, and gratitude. Although she had been taken aback, Angie stretched out her arms for Daniel to place her baby in them.
“Your cheeks are so big and pretty,” she cooed to her daughter, as if in agreement. Little Katie smiled. The parents checked other parts of their baby’s body and were relieved to find that, other than her head, the rest of her body was perfectly normal.
Angie and Daniel had long prepared for this moment. Months before Katie was born, they had known she wouldn’t be a regular child. Angie had five other children besides Katie, and all of them were born healthy and looked normal. After Angie had her fifth child, the doctor had informed her that she wouldn’t be able to have any more.
The couple had received this news with mixed feelings. On one hand, they already had five children that they were grateful for and happy with. On the other hand, it had felt like a loss. Angie and Daniel had always desired a large family; they considered children to be gifts from God. However, with their doctor’s pronouncement, that now seemed like a far-away dream.
A few months after the doctor’s pronouncement, though, a miracle happened. Angie felt pregnant. She hadn’t been conscious about it, unlike her other pregnancies, until she missed her period twice and began to experience other pregnancy symptoms that she was familiar with. She had informed her husband of her pregnancy, and they had been thrilled. Then they had set an appointment at the hospital for a scan. The couple had taken these steps out of habit; they had five other children they had taken these exact steps for, and everything had gone smoothly. They hadn’t expected this case to be any different. However, they were about to confront a highly unpleasant piece of news.
At the hospital, the scan was carried out. Angie had been 3 and 1/2 months old, and her vitals had looked good. However, once the doctor had seen the result of the scan, he had paled and turned his eyes away from the couple. This reaction had troubled Angie and Daniel, who had asked what the matter was. He had explained to them that something was wrong with their unborn baby.
The baby had a head that was three times the normal size. He told the couple that this could mean a number of things. Then he had asked to be excused and he had briefly consulted with other doctors. When he returned to the hospital room, he sighed, signaling that something was gravely wrong. Afterward, he sat next to the couple and told them the dangers that their unborn child could face.
A head as large as hers could be an indicator of an underlying medical condition, like a genetic disorder, excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, tumors, or craniosynostosis, which is a condition where the joints of an infant’s skull close before it’s supposed to, leading to an abnormal head shape and increased head size. For craniosynostosis, surgery normally has to be carried out on the infant.
Tears had welled up in the couple’s eyes upon hearing the news. They had grappled with the inexplicable turn of events. Having had five children without any complications, they couldn’t fathom why this pregnancy was so different. The doctor hadn’t sugarcoated the situation, warning them that if they chose to proceed, it would drastically alter their lives for the worse. He had explained that Katie’s health would be plagued with numerous issues, possibly leaving her in a severely disabled state.
They had faced a tough decision: terminate the pregnancy or continue. But the doctor had strongly recommended the former. On their way home from the hospital, the couple hadn’t spoken to each other; they had each been lost in their thoughts and weighing the gravity of the situation. Once they arrived at their house, they had put on a forced cheerful expression for their other children. But in the privacy of her bedroom, Angie had cried into her pillow. She had desperately prayed to God to have mercy on her child and save her.
After she had worn herself out, she had fallen into a deep sleep. When she woke up, a deep peace had surrounded her, and she had known what to do. She got up, went in search of Daniel, and found him in a pensive mood, sitting on the couch. She had then told him that she would keep the pregnancy, whatever difficulties came with it. Her stance had been defensive; she had been ready to abide by her decision, even if her husband wasn’t in support. Fortunately, Daniel had beamed at her and had assured her that he was on her side.
When Angie was 6 months pregnant, the couple had returned to the hospital, and a diagnosis had been given to their unborn child. The size of her head hadn’t reduced, and the doctors were now sure that she was suffering from a condition called macrocephaly. However, they hadn’t been able to say what the cause was. Once the child was born, they had intended to investigate further and find a solution.
The moment that Katie was born, doctors launched their investigation to find out the cause of her macrocephaly. They ran several diagnostic tests, but they all failed to identify the cause of her condition. It wasn’t anything they had seen before, and they concluded it was a rare genetic disorder that didn’t even have a name. If years went by and Katie’s condition still couldn’t be classified, they would name it after her.
Angie and Daniel had hoped that, at the very least, Katie would only look different but be otherwise healthy. However, their hopes were dashed as a series of severe health issues began to emerge. Mere weeks after she was born, Katie started experiencing multiple seizures.
On some days, she would have as many as 50 seizures in a single day. The situation gave her entire family sleepless nights They knew they could lose her if something wasn’t immediately done to stop or, at the very least, reduce the seizures.
It was at this point that Angie and her husband made another hard decision. After Angie and Daniel consulted with the doctors, they discovered the only way to stop the seizures was to take out half of Katie’s brain. This would mean forever ruining what little chances she had of leading a somewhat normal life. Angie and Daniel were devastated by the news, but at the same time, they knew they had to make a swift decision. Left with no other choice, they consented to the surgery.
True to the doctor’s words, once it was performed, the seizures stopped completely. However, there were times her petite body would stiffen like a rock, and her head would roll from one side to the other uncontrollably. Whenever this happened, any of her family members who were close by would pinch her feet, rub or pat her back to relax her muscles.
As Katie grew older, her cheeks got bigger, and the extra skin on top of them assumed an odd brown coloring. It was discovered that she had plenty of fatty tissue on her face, which prevented her from talking and forced her to eat through a straw. Her cheeks were so heavy that they also prevented Katie from walking. Thankfully, she could sit upright and stand for a short time. Her large cheeks affected her ears too, causing deformities and hearing loss.
Katie was dealing with so much, and she wasn’t even four years old yet. Also, her tongue didn’t fit in her mouth, but that didn’t prevent her from finding a way to suck her thumb. When Daniel caught her doing it, he called Angie to see. She didn’t know that her daughter was capable of that act and thought it was clever that she figured out how to suck her thumb under her circumstances. In a way, this simple act reminded them both that she was still a child and not just a medical case, as some people thought.
In fact, she still lived a relatively normal life. Katie’s family lived in a mobile home that they had increasingly expanded as their family grew. Unfortunately, they weren’t well-to-do; her parents didn’t have stable jobs, although Daniel received disability for some of his own health issues. Much of what the children owned were donated to them by well-meaning people from their church and in their community. However, the family was content and knew how to be self-sufficient despite the problems they were facing due to Katie’s health issues.
Family meant everything to them. Often, the family would go to the park for picnics and family hangout time. On all occasions, people stared blatantly at Katie and couldn’t turn their heads away, no matter how much her family tried to get used to this reaction from people. They couldn’t, as sometimes some bold ones came up to them and asked why Katie looked like she did. The nicer ones offered kind words, but every now and again, there was a rude person who ridiculed Katie’s looks. Sadly, those rude people were mostly children.
Katie’s family learned to don a thick skin because of her. Whenever they went out, they focused on having a good time and ignoring the stares from strangers who didn’t know them and only had mean things to say. Fortunately, the tides were about to turn in favor of Katie and her family. When she turned 4 years old, her family drove to a hospital in Florida for multiple surgeries that would help her get better. She had about seven surgeries that downsized her cheeks, fixed her ears so she could hear better, and shortened her tongue so it could fit in her mouth. Her tonsils were also removed, and two cysts were excised from her head.
It was heartbreaking for the entire family to sit through the numerous surgeries, but they took relief in the knowledge that these operations would make a difference in Katie’s life. Recovery took a while, but Katie eventually got better. Katie’s physical appearance saw only marginal improvements following the surgery. Her head remained disproportionately large for her body, and while her cheeks were somewhat smaller, she still couldn’t fully close her mouth. Although her family had anticipated more significant changes and felt disappointed with the outcome, their love for Katie grew stronger than ever after the surgery.
Angie decided that her daughter would no longer go under the knife. The little girl had already faced more trials and tribulations than most people in their entire lives ever will. Angie just wanted her daughter to live her life happily among her siblings. Also, because she had given birth to two more in those four years. Katie’s siblings attended a school different from hers, yet they spent a lot of time with her. Whenever they were home, all the siblings got along well and enjoyed one another’s company.
Katie, particularly, had a way of brightening up everybody’s day with little effort. She wasn’t conscious of her disability; she woke up every morning and got on with her day without a care in the world. Katie’s family made sure never to treat her like she’s handicapped and did their best to include her in activities. Surprisingly, as she got older, her personality turned out to be quite interesting. Thanks to Katie, her siblings learned to be considerate of other people who had family members with disabilities. They could relate to the emotional turmoil these families faced and knew what words to say to comfort them.
As Katie was constantly surrounded by people who loved her and cheered her on, many years passed by. This is how she looks now. Looks-wise, her features haven’t changed much. She still has a big head, heavy cheeks, and deformed ears.
But she’s such an active and playful girl. This is a child that doctors had predicted would end up as a vegetable and be an extreme burden to her family. Yet she’s nothing like that. She’s even learned how to use a computer at her school for children with disabilities. Her older siblings are doing well in their own lives and pursuits, and they still love her so much. It’s obvious that she would never lack for love and will always be an incredible delight to her family members.
Her parents are proud of their choice to bring her into the world and wouldn’t change a single thing about their precious daughter.
Would you have made the same choice as Katie’s parents? How would you react to knowing that your child suffers from a condition with no name or known cause?
