'Our daughter was born with a rare medical condition ... we call her baby hulk'
“When I actually saw her, I cried even more because I had never seen anything like that but I didn’t care what she looked like, I loved her anyway."
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An adorable bub has been dubbed ‘Baby Hulk’ after a rare medical condition caused her to be born with an abnormally large chest and arms.
Brave Armani Milby, now nine months old, had to be delivered via an emergency C-section at 33 weeks after she was diagnosed with a severe form of lymphangioma which causes benign growths in the lymph vessels.
The extremely rare congenital condition left the brave tot with a swollen chest and arms which her mum Chelsey said caused her to look like a mini bodybuilder, leading her to give her the affectionate moniker ‘Mini Hulk’.
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Armani was born weighing 12lbs, three times more than the average-sized baby at that point in gestation, which is typically between three to five lbs.
Chelsey, 33, said that people thought that she was expecting triplets because of the size of her bump and that she cried daily as she struggled to move when she reached 200lbs whilst pregnant.
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"They gave her a zero per cent chance"
Chelsey found out that Armani had the condition after an ultrasound at the 17-week mark of the pregnancy and doctors were concerned over suspected fluid around her heart.
Depending on the area of the body affected by Lymphangioma it can cause serious health problems including problems with breathing or vision. Despite a disheartening prognosis from doctors, Chelsey always held hope for her unborn child and luckily for Armani, it’s thought her condition is treatable with surgery.
“I had never, ever, heard of the diagnosis before and honestly, I had looked into it, and I didn’t really like the results with some of the pictures," Chelsey said.
“When I found out, to be honest, I was devastated, I was heartbroken. I didn’t understand what happened, what went wrong, because I had two other healthy babies, and I cried every day. Every day, I asked God why.
“We never considered an abortion even though it was mentioned to us almost immediately after it was discovered there were some major concerns with our unborn baby, but we just wanted to know how we could help her when she was born.
“They literally gave her a zero percent chance. They said she wouldn’t make it and that she probably wouldn’t be crying when she came out."
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"Something was telling me it was time to get her out"
After 33 weeks, Chelsey had a caesarean section to deliver Armani, who was immediately crying and soon after, she was able to prove doctors wrong.
However, the entire pregnancy was incredibly difficult for Chelsey, who felt pain every day that she carried her child.
“My body was shutting down. Something was telling me it was time to get her out. I was almost 200 pounds, and my health was getting really bad," she said.
“I suffered every day; I could never sleep. I was extremely sick.
“That’s why I had them take her at 33 weeks because my body was shutting down and it was getting harder every day to live life and actually breathe because I was so uncomfortable as I had to keep getting fluid drained out of my stomach.
“To everyone's surprise, she came out crying and everybody in the room was emotional. No one knew what was going to happen. It’s a very magical story.”
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"I didn't care wheat she looked like, I loved her anyway"
For dad, Blake, who was not allowed in the delivery room, the process was tough.
“I remember sitting outside in the hallway, they took me back there for the delivery and while they’re in there giving her an epidural, I was out there pacing the hall, just praying," he said.
The operation was far from easy for Chelsey, who suffered a panic attack soon after they started, but it was all worth it when she saw her baby's face.
“They had to give me something to calm me down because I was having a panic attack. I was screaming and crying," she said.
“I was just a wreck, it was horrible.
“In the back of our minds, we were both wondering what was going to happen. However, she just shocked us all and proved everyone wrong.
“When I actually saw her, I cried even more because I had never seen anything like that but I didn’t care what she looked like, I loved her anyway.
“I had never seen anyone look like that before so I was just shocked to be honest, but grateful at the same time.”
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"It's been a rollercoaster ride"
After being born, Armani and her family were moved over 100 miles away to Cincinnati for three months in a specialist hospital where she began to make her recovery against the odds.
“I battled postpartum depression really bad, and I had to push that away to try to be the strongest person I could be for her and for my other two kids," she said.
“It's been a rollercoaster ride. It really has been a rollercoaster ride and every day, I struggle a little bit.”
Now, Armani has been undergoing constant treatment to remove excess fluid from her body, however, with copious amounts of excess skin, she still currently weighs 21 lbs and wears clothes that are made for babies who are twice her age.
Armani is scheduled for surgery later this year where doctors would extract extra lymphatic vessels from her body which would help her body shrink down to the correct size and over the coming years, she would undergo surgery to remove the extra skin.
Healthline states that the condition only occurs in 1 in 4,000 births and it commonly affects the head or neck region as small bumps or swellings.
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"We're trying to give her the best life possible"
Chelsey, from Campbellsville, Kentucky, US, is delighted with Armani’s progress and she believes that her child will live a normal life - pain free.
“Now she’s squishy, I just call her my little squishy baby. She’s doing very well," she said.
“She has a lot of extra skin. It'll all go away, and she'll be the normal-looking baby. She'll just have significant scarring from the surgeries and everything.
“She got lucky. She’s not deformed or anything like that. I've actually seen some cases where they have and God bless them kids, they're fighters.
“She’s happy. She hardly ever cries unless she wants to be held. We’re trying to do everything for this baby and give her the best life possible.
“She finally rolled over and she’s trying to say ‘momma’, I’m pretty sure, she’s getting really close.
“She’s doing wonderful. She literally is my miracle baby, and we just love her so much.”
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