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Mom Sees Baby Sticking Her Tongue Out In Shocking Ultrasound

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Before Ocea Varney was even born, an ultrasound showed her tongue sticking out while she was still in mom’s belly. 

At first, her mother Melanie, along with nurses thought it was cute, until they learned the shocking truth. 

“I remember the technician saying ‘look how cute she is, she’s sticking her tongue out at you’. When she was born it was the first thing I noticed – I thought it was cute at first, but it caused some serious complications,” Melanie told the Mirror.

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Ocea was bigger than her twin sister and her oversized tongue caused complications with feeding. This made Ocea very uncomfortable and also made breastfeeding impossible.

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“When we were out at the store we would get comments about her tongue poking out – most of them said she was cute but others thought she was being rude. A couple of times people said it looked like she was thirsty and panting, as if she was some sort of dog. But she was miserable with it – I would try and breast feed her but she just couldn’t latch on,” Melanie describes.

Credit: Caters
Credit: Caters

Melanie and her husband were extremely worried, but confused as to why three doctors told them it was “just a phase.” These concerned parents were not buying it, and after doing their own research, they discovered Ocea had a rare genetic disorder called Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. Usually categorized by overgrowth, this condition only occurs in one in every 11,000 births according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Just to make sure this was what Ocea had, the family took her to see a specialist in Australia, who knew about the condition. As soon as the doctor saw Ocea, he told the family it BWS, which was heartbreaking for them to hear.

“But after three months, at least we finally had a diagnosis and could start doing something about it,” Melanie said.

At just seven months old, Ocea had tongue corrective surgery in Missouri and has continued to visit the hospital every six weeks to be screened for tumors. 

Credit: Caters
Credit: Caters

Ocea is now a healthy youngster and is living a normal and happy life with her family. 

Credit: Caters
Credit: Caters

To help others, Melanie created the website How Big BWS to bring attention to the condition, and to inform and educate families and medical professionals. Melanie said, “Our goal is to raise awareness about this syndrome. Up to a quarter of sufferers develop cancer so it’s important that an early diagnosis is made.”

Credit: Caters
Credit: Caters

“We want doctors to recognize BWS and ensure families know there is a support network out there for them. If that means getting people to pull a silly face then that’s worth it,” she added.

To help others learn about this condition, please SHARE this story with your friends and family on Facebook. 

[Featured Image Credit: Caters]

Mom Sees Baby Sticking Her Tongue Out In Shocking Ultrasound is an article from: LifeDaily


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