A baby boy who was born without a face has defied all the odds to reach his first birthday.
Matthew Gillado suffers with a condition known as acrania - a rare facial deformity that occurs inside the fetus.
Doctors told his 22-year-old mum Isabela Gillado her baby was unlikely to survive past two weeks during her first ultasound in July last year.
But after a long fight and contrary to the prognosis, Matthew is celebrating his first birthday on October 3.
The rare congenital disorder means the flat bones in the cranial vault within the skull are either completely or partially absent.
Raven said: "We wanted to feel the physical presence of our baby, hug and kiss him. We named him Matthew as it means 'a gift from God.'"
During the first month of Isabella’s pregnancy, she had a fever and took bioflu, an over-the-counter capsule containing phenylephrine HCI, chlorphenamine maleate and paracetamol, for one week.
They believe this may have had some impact on the baby’s facial deformation.
Matthew was born via cesarean section in a hospital in Santiago town in northern Philippines.
He said: "When I first saw our baby, I trembled, felt weak and almost collapsed inside the delivery room. He was almost faceless."
The next day, despite his condition, baby Matthew was discharged while Isabela was left at the intensive care unit for two weeks.
Isabela continues to feed him drops of milk and vitamins for him to stay healthy and he is now celebrating his first birthday on October 3.
Meanwhile Raven is working at a clothes factory in Balintawak, Quezon City earning $4 per day, around £$120 (£92) per month, which is barely enough for the family to survive.
Despite the family’s below minimum wage income, support from relatives and the public help them afford daily basic needs for Matthew's survival.
Last May Raven, Isabela and Matthew travelled 224 miles from Santiago City to Philippine General Hospital in Manila for almost three weeks and underwent different clinical and laboratory procedures.
he hospital assessed that reconstructing baby Matthew’s face would be risky for him, as his fragile 11 pounds body could not withstand major surgeries.
But Isabela is not losing her faith, and said: "He is fighting for his life and we should also strive to provide his daily needs and always hope for a better future for our first born.
"We will not let go. We’re all fighting and looking forward that someday through God’s grace and advancement in medical science, I can see the handsome face of Matthew, God’s gift to us."

See more photos and video here https://gistdeal..com/2018/10/baby-born-without-face-celebrate-first.html

This is terrible for a human.

So disheartening. Happy birthday to the young chap

Wetin

Is it not better to make baby peppersoup and wash it down with cold beer?

LuciferKristi:
Is it not better to make baby peppersoup and wash it down with cold beer?

You need this

Is it not unfair keeping this baby alive. What's the purpose?

"We will not let go. We’re all fighting and looking forward that someday through God’s grace and advancement in medical science, I can see the handsome face of Matthew, God’s gift to us."

Humans and self deceits, hypocrisy. There's nothing good about this and we all know. Who ever wants this kind of gift must be a psychopath.