It’s a heartbreaking image: a sweet little girl born with a huge disfiguring tumor covering the left side of her face.
They handed her to me and I think I just went into shock.
At that point I had about a minute of panic terror.
Joe and Jennifer Mcgillis live in Montana, but their search for the best doctor who could help their little girl Sloane led them to New York City.
Hi, young lady and vascular surgeon Milton Weiner, Sloane was diagnosed with a Hemangioma.
The sheer size of the non cancerous tumor was already affecting her facial nerves and muscles.
I’m going to remove all of the tumor.
My intention is to realign the face.
There will be a little incision right under the eyelid.
There will be an incision between the cheek and the nose.
It hides very well.
On the day of the surgery, mom and dad were anxious for their 10 month old daughter and good job.
Okay, Gup, good job, I love you.
Yeah, girl, Jennifer’s, stay with Sloane until the very last moment.
Dr Waner begins by mapping out the position of Sloane’s facial nerves and muscles to avoid damaging them.
We are going to go ahead and remove this tumor.
The surgery lasted five hours.
We’ve removed most of the tumor.
The smile muscle is intact.
Sloane is wheeled out of the O. our mom and dad are by her side for being a tiny little baby.
She handles it all amazingly.
She’s not scared, but Sloan’s tumor is so big it will take multiple surgeries.
For more than a year we followed the progress of baby Sloane.
We were there when she had her second surgery at age 14 months.
She’s walking now- and had a happy morning with a trip to an American Girl store in Manhattan.
I think a special treat was meeting.
None other than Espn anchor had a storm.
I was born with a port-wine stain and it was all above my eye and below, and when I don’t have makeup on, I still look like I have a black eye.
Hannah has set up a foundation which is getting financial support to families like Sloan’s.
And here is Sloane today, about to turn to back home in Montana.
What a transformation here, Sloane at ten months, Sloane at 14 months, Sloane now at age two, a brave little girl inspiring everyone in a big way.
A miracle, a chance at a better life you.
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