A baby being born is a completely amazing and beautiful thing to witness — and is surely one of the most magical moments in any parent's life.
But these moments can become a bit harrowing if the baby is born with a certain condition, especially if their parents didn't know about them prior!
There are actually plenty of irregularities that babies can be born with, like this little girl who was born with a huge, adult-sized tongue!
Poor little Michaela Miller gave her parents a particularly big scare when she come out of the womb: She had an avocado-sized hole in her head!
Her parents weren't even able to get a picture of her before she was whisked away to intensive care to get diagnosed and treated.
Though it took a lot of time in the hospital to get her head all closed up, the baby — who rocks a protective helmet full-time — and her family look so happy to be together.
Learn more about Michaela and her shocking condition below.
[H/T: Daily Mail]
When Michaela Miller was born, her father, Keith, thought that she had afterbirth covering her head.
"But when the doctors wiped her head, I realized I was looking through a porthole at a bird's-eye view of her brain," he explained to Daily Mail.
As it turned out, the little baby had been born with a 10×4 cm hole in her head — around the size of an avocado!
She was quickly carried away to the special care ward, much to the dismay of Keith and mother Christie Puyk, who hadn't even gotten a picture with the new baby yet.
Then Michaela, who was just hours old, traveled to intensive care, where she was later diagnosed with cutis aplasia.
Though her parents had to watch her helplessly in an incubator, the hospital staff tried to keep them in good spirits — a volunteer even gave them a handmade teddy bear as a Christmas present for the baby.
The condition where a section of a baby's skin is missing at birth is very rare, affecting only 10,000 newborns worldwide.
And Michaela's case was particularly strange, given how big her head hole was!
"There was nothing bulging out, there was just no skull at the top of her head, but skin had formed over it," explained Keith.
Luckily enough, the six-pound baby was completely healthy, except for the hole in her head.
But it did make her vulnerable to deadly infections, since her insides were left exposed.
So, at only 22 hours old, she had her first three-hour long skin graft surgery.
Unfortunately, only 60 percent of the graft took to her skin, so she had to have another surgery only days later.
She then had to get another a few months later in February.
Overall, the poor baby spent three and a half months in the hospital, with ten of those weeks being in intensive care.
"When we got her home, it was the best, and the time in the hospital seemed surreal," explained Puyk.
Though her head is now 90 percent covered with skull because of the surgeries, she still has to wear a little helmet all the time to protect her head from any bugs or infections.
If the hole isn't completely covered by the time she turns two, she'll have to have another operation.
Regardless of all the struggle and time spent in and out of the hospital, her parents seem so incredible happy to have her.
"Michaela is so perfect to us, she's happy and bubbly," said Puyk.
This family definitely knows how to get over difficult circumstances and come out on the other side looking completely happy.
Looking at happy little Michaela, one would never guess she had been through so much at such a young age.
Hopefully this strong family will continue to persevere, and that their beautiful daughter will grow healthier and stronger with each passing day!
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