Zee Media Bureau/Ritu Singh
Washington: Baby Eli Thompson came into this world perfectly healthy on March 4, but with one distinction that he didn't have a nose.
Weighing 6 pounds and 8 ounces, baby Eli was born without a nose, nasal passage or sinus cavities. The disorder, called complete congenital arhinia, is so rare, experts say there are only 38 known cases reported worldwide.
This miracle baby's mother Brandi McGlathery said she was at first shocked and upset to hear the news from her doctor.
"I pulled him back so I could get a better look at him. Then I said, 'Something's wrong with him." My doctor said, 'No, he's perfectly fine.' I said, 'No he doesn't have a nose,'" McGlathery said.
The baby was then taken to USA Children's and Women's Hospital in Mobile, Ala., where doctors gave him a tracheotomy to help him eat without struggling for breath.
McGlathery further added that she and her family have all been trained in controlling her child's equipment, and all received CPR training.
Eli will have to grow past puberty before his nasal passageways can be rebuilt surgically.
His family wants to spare him any unnecessary facial surgeries, because his mom says they think "he's perfect the way he is."
