After being born with part of her brain outside her skull, doctors feared Karlie might have only minutes to live.

A TODDLER who was given just minutes to survive after being born with part of her brain outside her skull has made remarkable progress against the odds.

Karlie Toland, now 17 months old, is believed to be the only person in the world living with her rare combination of conditions.

Born with part of her brain outside her skull — a condition known as an encephalocele — doctors feared Karlie might not survive longer than 20 minutes.

Doctors had told her mum, Gemma McCusker, 24, to prepare for the possibility of “missing limbs, her nose to be on her forehead and that she might not even have eyes” after scans during pregnancy revealed an abnormality.

But Gemma and dad Kyle Toland, 20, refused to give up hope for their little girl.

Four weeks after being taken home, little Karlie was still showing remarkable resilience.

Gemma and Kyle say they struggled to obtain the medical support their daughter needed until they visited Belfast’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

There, a doctor offered to perform surgery to repair the tissue protruding through her forehead.

The operation lasted just under five hours, and Karlie is now laughing, smiling, talking, eating independently and learning to crawl.

Gemma, a full-time mum, said: “After giving birth, I was told my daughter might not survive beyond 20 minutes.

“I was heartbroken, and although she had part of her brain outside her skull, she looked perfect to me.

“But she refused to give up, and we knew she was strong enough to keep fighting despite everything we had been told.

“After being discharged from hospital, we went home with Karlie and used bottles of sterile water at room temperature and cotton swabs to gently clean the fluid leaking from her skull.

“We had been told Karlie might not survive the next few days, but she defied those expectations. Once we received a second opinion four weeks later, she finally had the operation she desperately needed.

“Looking at her now makes me so proud. She is always smiling, laughing and happy. She is such a little miracle.”

Karlie was diagnosed with five medical conditions shortly after birth and is believed to be the only person in the world living with this particular combination.

The adorable toddler also has cerebral palsy; an abnormal brain structure known as holoprosencephaly; a chromosomal condition known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome; microcephaly, which causes the head to be smaller than expected; and encephalocele, the condition that caused part of her brain tissue to protrude outside her skull.

It remains uncertain how her conditions may affect her as she grows older.

“We’ve been told by doctors that Karlie is a miracle to be alive, and she really is,” Gemma said.

“During my pregnancy, I was told at my 20-week scan that there was something unusual on her head, but we had no idea what it was until she was born.

“I was told to prepare myself for the possibility of missing limbs, her nose being on her forehead and that she might not even have eyes.

“But Karlie did not have any of the physical differences we had been warned about, and she was born with all her facial features and limbs.

“She has proven everyone wrong, and even after her major operation in December, she spent only 48 hours in hospital before coming home.

“We couldn’t believe it. Although no one expected her to make such progress because her brain does not have the usual three structures, so far she has been developing in line with other children her age.

“The main area where she is delayed is walking, but she can stand if I hold her hand, so I don’t think we’ll have to wait much longer.”

Gemma and Kyle said they believe their daughter owes her life to Dr Mano Shanmuganathan, a neurosurgeon at Belfast’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

“We are so thankful to Dr Mano for never giving up on our daughter,” Gemma said.

“His surgery saved her life and gave us the chance to build a future with Karlie.

“We don’t know what the future holds for Karlie, but we are confident she will continue to defy expectations.”

Source: thesun.co.uk