Baby Born Without Eyes and With Half Her Brain Disconnected Baffles Doctors, Hits All Her Milestones
A baby born without eyes and who's had half her brain disconnected is baffling doctors by hitting all her milestones.
Five-month-old Harlym Carter was born with anophthalmia, a birth defect in which one or both eyes don't develop fully. Doctors discovered the left side of her brain was underdeveloped after Harlym had several seizures and performed life-changing surgery to disconnect the left side of her brain from her right.
However, her mom, Allyanna Carter, 19, from Salisbury, North Carolina, says her baby is now able to almost crawl, sit upright, and hold her head up, as well as babble and drink from a bottle.
"When I was first told about Harlym's condition, I was heartbroken. But already, doctors are extremely surprised at how she's doing," said Ms. Carter, who cares for Harlym full-time.
"I was told she'd never be able to walk or talk—but she's nearly crawling even though she can't use the right side of her body. She's the best baby ever and so talkative!
"At first I automatically assumed her conditions had something to do with me; any mum is going to blame herself. But doctors told me there wasn't a clear reason why she was born with so many conditions—it's just genetics."
Ms. Carter found out she was pregnant in November 2022 and had a healthy pregnancy all the way through. She was told Harlym looked "perfectly healthy" at her 20-week scan and had no idea about her baby's health problems until she gave birth.
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