HER parents were told to prepare for the worst – their daughter had such a rare condition she was given a zero chance of survival.
But baby Armani Milby has defied the odds. She’s now nine months old and is happy and thriving despite her rocky start to life and the challenges she has yet to face.
The little girl, who’s from Campbellsville in Kentucky in the US, was born with a severe form of lymphangioma, a condition that causes benign tumours to grow in the lymphatic vessels – tubelike structures that carry fluid around the body.
The swelling has caused her upper torso and arms to become disproportionately bulky, leading her mom, Chelsey (33), to give her the affectionate nickname “mini Hulk”.
“She looked like a mini bodybuilder,” she says.
Armani spent the first three months of her life in a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she received specialist surgery to drain excess fluid from her arms. She will also need further surgery to remove excess skin caused by the stretching.
Now that some of the fluid has been drained, she looks much better, Chelsey says. “Now she’s squishy. I just call her my little squishy baby. She’s doing very well.”
Her daughter’s condition, which can be caused by genetics or hormone problems, was diagnosed at 17 weeks of pregnancy.
Armani weighed nearly 5,5kg when she was born and Chelsey was so big at the end of the pregnancy that strangers would ask if she was having triplets.
Doctors told Chelsey and her husband, Blake, there was no chance their baby would make it – but Armani cried as soon as she was delivered via C-section at 33 weeks and has been fighting ever since.
CHELSEY, who has two older children, wept when she was told her baby had the condition. “I didn’t understand what was going on.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it