The internet is a great place to catch up with friends and family. We can post pictures of our babies, talk about milestones and share videos of their first steps. But, what if your child wan't quite like all the other babies? What if she had a physical deformity so strange that people started to comment on the photos you posted?
When doctors noticed an abnormality during a routine ultrasound, they thought it might just be a vascular problem. But, when little Madison RayLynn Gatlin was born, her parents knew that something wasn't quite right.
Baby Madison has "Congenital, Lipomatous, Overgrowth, Vascular Malformations, Epidermal Nevi and Spinal/Skeletal Anomalies and/or Scoliosis."
Better known as CLOVES syndrome, it is an extremely rare syndrome that causes vascular abnormalities. People with this disease can form fatty soft-tissue tumors and vascular malformations that wrap around the spine or internal organs.
Madison's CLOVES affects her arms and torso. She wears a compression outfit to minimize the effects of CLOVES.
Her parents decided to get ahead of the haters and give their sweet angel this tough nickname: "Baby Hulk." As it turns out, the nickname is a great way to normalize what is happening with their daughter's body.
When children ask what's wrong with her, Maddison's mother tells them: "Nothing, her daddy is the Hulk."
Doctors say that If it hadn't been for all the hard work that her mother and father did in her early years, Madison likely would not have survived this long.
Listen to her mother's incredible story here:
