Alana, 3, was very desirable. Her parents, Katherine and Mark Donlon, had been trying to have a baby for four years, but when they finally succeeded, doctors informed them of severe anomalies at the 20th week of pregnancy.
The abnormalities concerned the development of the brain, so Catherine recommended an abortion, but after long and painful deliberation, Catherine and Mark abandoned it and decided to carry the baby.
Alina was born on March 15, 2016 with the help of a cesarean section and a huge hernia containing brain tissue hung on the back of her head. This anomaly is called encephalocele and occurs with a frequency of 1 in 4000-5000 newborns, that is, it is quite rare.
The severity of the pathology depends on many factors, the size of the hernia, the presence of concomitant anomalies. Children who have such a large chunk of the brain outside their heads, like Alana's, most often die shortly after birth.
But Alana was lucky, almost immediately after birth she was taken to the intensive care unit and after 8 days a grueling 7-hour operation took place. The girl's brain was completely removed.
Further forecasts of doctors were disappointing and later they were partially confirmed. Alina cannot walk, suffers from nervous seizures, during which she can severely scratch her face, she is also completely blind. But her parents continue to call the girl a miracle child.
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“When she was born she didn't cry and at first we even thought she was dead. But then we were told that she was breathing and that was a great relief. It was strange to see her with this piece of flesh on her head, but for us she was still beautiful."
The girl needs constant care and she will need him until the very end of her life. She can't even sit on her own, but recently she suddenly made progress in learning how to turn while lying down. Her mental development will most likely remain like a baby forever.
Her parents fight her nervous seizures by giving her medicine and cutting her nails short. If her nails grow back too much, she may scratch her face. Also, the girl regularly puts on special gloves on her hands.
Recently, Alana was sent to a special group for the disabled, where there are other children with mental disabilities. According to Alan's parents, he behaves normally with these children.
Katherine and Mark have another child, Emily, Alana's older sister, she is 9 years old. She was born completely healthy and enjoys playing with her younger sister.
