Following a life-saving skin transplant at Texas Children's Hospital, 10-month-old Ja'bari Gray - who was born with no skin - can finally be kissed by his own mother, ABC News reports.
When Priscilla Maldonado gave birth to her tiny three-pound baby on New Year's Day, it was immediately apparent that he had large chunks of skin missing from his body. In addition to that, his eyelids were fused together and he had to contend with serious breathing difficulties.
According to the information Maldonado was given, there are only two other babies in the United States with the condition, and tragically both of them have since passed away.
Maldonado talks about the groundbreaking surgery her son received:"He literally from the neck down, from the front and back nothing, there was no skin and even parts of his legs, he had no skin," the doting mom told ABC News.
The vulnerable newborn spent his first three months in intensive care, with his family being informed that his condition was touch and go.
As a result of the surgery, Ja’bari is not only able to wear clothes for the first time, but he’s also been able to have skin-to-skin contact with his family. The skin used in the procedure was grown inside a lab that specialises in burn victims and is taken from cells at the back of his ear.
"If it wasn’t his purpose to be here, he would have been gone from birth or even before birth, so he does have a purpose in this world and we never know what it is until the future," his mother said. "[Ja’bari] actually means fighter and warrior, and that name was given to him by his grandfather… [when] we didn’t even know what his condition was, and come to find out it fits exactly what he’s going through."
She continued:
"It was heartwarming because he was crying when he was laying down, but as soon as I picked him up and had the skin-to-skin contact and put him on my chest, he just stopped crying. Now you can kiss him, touch him, do all that stuff. He got to wear his first set of clothes now, so he’s getting there, making coo sounds that normal babies would do, he’s interacting with us. Even though he can’t see us and stuff, he’s still interacting."
While Ja'bari has been recovering extraordinarily well, he still has a long way to go and plenty of setbacks to overcome.
He has already undergone two surgeries to separate his eyelids, but sadly, they fused shut both times. The 10-month-old will also undergo further operations to separate his arms, right hand, right foot and neck.
In any case, we wish Ja'bari and his family all the best.
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