DOCTORS REMOVE A 16-POUND TUMOR FROM A 15-YEAR-OLD HAITIAN GIRL'S FACE


There's a truly INCREDIBLE medical story coming out of Miami right now. . . where doctors have saved a girl with an extremely rare condition that wasn't just DEFORMING her face. . . but also threatening her life.



15-year-old Marlie Casseus lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and, since she was five, she's had a massive tumor growing in the center of her face. It's because of a rare genetic disease called polyostotic fibrous dysplasia.



By age 14, Marlie had a 16-POUND TUMOR, about the size of a basketball, completely deforming her face. Her nose became just two nostrils, she couldn't breathe except for a tiny hole in her mouth and her life was in danger.



In Haiti, they didn't have the technology to treat Marlie, who's been HIDING IN HER HOME since age 12. But, last summer, her father heard about a Gina Eugene of Miami, who runs the Haitian children's charity called Good Samaritan for a Better Life and contacted her.



Gina arranged for Marlie to be brought to the U.S., and taken to Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami. And over the past year, a team there has performed four major surgeries on Marlie. . . which have finally, completely removed the tumor.



Marlie is still at the hospital recovering. Over time, she'll be able to switch from liquid foods to solid foods and strengthen the muscles she needs to speak again for the first time in years.