#1
25-year-old Danielle Youngburg from Missouri, USA had good reason to celebrate: She was pregnant with her second child. It was going to be a little girl and Danielle, her boyfriend Tom, and their son Robyn were over-the-moon that they'd soon have a new member of the family.
#2
But the next round of ultrasounds made them nervous: The unborn baby clearly had Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, causing her to have a gigantic tongue. There was a significant risk that their little girl would choke on it in her first moments.
#3
And little Layla, as she was named, certainly did face danger. She was born 4 weeks premature and couldn't breathe on her own. She also couldn't eat normally due to her oversized tongue, and thus had to be fed through a tube. Danielle feared for her daughter's life everyday.
#4
Layla has undergone two operations since she was born. The first one, when she was just 6 months old, tried to fit the tongue back into the mouth, but her tongue plopped right back out again. It was painful for Danielle to witness how other people looked at her baby: first staring and then ignoring.
#5
Only little kids had the courage to ask what was wrong with the baby. But in Danielle's eyes, Layla was perfect - though she did acknowledge something had to be done. Layla couldn't control her tongue, she had difficulty breathing, and was constantly drooling. Finally, the baby went back under the knife; she was only 13 months old.
#6
The operation sounded pretty traumatic. Danielle reported that doctors cut a v-shaped slit in her daughter's tongue so that the two ends would grow back together. Thankfully, the procedure went smoothly!
#7
Layla has grown into a beautiful 2-year-old. She captures the hearts of everyone with her new smile - and she can eat and breathe normally for the first time. Even if she occasionally throws a tantrum, her mom is still ecstatic that Layla is feeling better.
#8
It's hard to believe this little thing had such a rough beginning! That smile makes all your worries wash away...
Once again, thank goodness for modern medicine. Layla has been saved from a life of profound challenges. But the most important thing is that her family loved her throughout all of it - no matter the size of her tongue.
