Vanessa Cornelio was born with not one but three serious medical conditions, each one having a different yet powerful effect.
The Arizona native was born with neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form on her nervous system and hang outside and across her body.
When Vanessa was 4 years old, she was diagnosed with scoliosis and kyphosis, which cause abnormal curvatures of her spine.
She developed back, hip, and neck pain and began walking with a hunch. Her body is covered in bumps and scars. She suffers from bad balance and tingling limbs, along with a slew of other negative side effects.
By the time Vanessa was 12, her physical appearance was in the midst of even more drastic changes. But unlike her peers, who were going through puberty and developing breasts, Vanessa was developing more and more tumors.
She's had at least 15 operations over the years. "It’s hard to have what I have on my body and be okay," she told Barcroft TV, "because women around the world work out, they have perfect bodies, they have everything."
Then one day, Vanessa met her future fiancé at a local restaurant. He quickly fell in love with her despite her disorders.
When Vanessa gave birth to her son, Daniel Jr., doctors broke the news. He, too, had NF. But it's her son's diagnosis that allowed her to go public with her story and show her body to the world… with more confidence than ever before.
