I'm pretty sure that my heart has grown at least two sizes after learning about Tessa Evans, an extraordinary 17-month-old girl from Maghera in Northern Ireland who was born without a nose. Tessa's condition is called complete congenital arhinia and is extremely rare. What it means is that aside from having no nose, Tessa also has no sinuses and no sense of smell.
Tessa's condition has also come with a host of other issues and her journey thus far is nothing short of remarkable and inspiring. Wait until you see video of this little cute in action, she will steal your heart.
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Tessa's parents, Nathan and Grainne Evans, were told after a 20 week scan during pregnancy showed an abnormally flat profile, to get ready to make a difficult decision, but a later 3D scan and tests showed that Tessa was healthy and normal.
When she was born, Grainne noticed right away that her daughter was missing a nose. Can you imagine the difficulties that this must have caused especially since babies are wired to only breath through their noses?
With the help of doctors and medical procedures, Tessa was stabilized and able to breath on her own. In her very short life, Tessa has had to have surgery to remove a cataract from her left eye (related to her condition), but complications from that procedure left her almost blind in that eye.
Tessa will need continued expensive medical care for the rest of her life, which has put a large financial strain on the family; they've set up a fund for donations to help with medical expenses.
Even though Tessa has had more than her share of challenges, she doing great! Grainne says, "I can't believe how much can change in a year. I was so worried about my little girl when she was born but she's defied all the odds and I am so proud and grateful to be her mummy."
Soon Tessa will begin treatment to help create a nose for her. A nose shape mould will be inserted via her hairline into her face and placed where her nose should be. Every few years the mould will be replaced with a larger one.
Gainne says about the decision to create a nose for Tessa, "She is totally perfect to us the way she is, but we have to think about what will make life as normal as possible for her in the long run. It's not been an easy decision."
Now check out this extraordinary little girl in action!
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Image via YouTube*
