🥺💗 HER NECK TUMOR GREW BIGGER THAN HER HEAD — BUT LITTLE LAYLA DEFEATED THE ODDS 🙏✨

Before little Layla ever took her first breath, doctors were already fighting to save her life.

At just 16 weeks pregnant, Ashley Manderle received devastating news during a routine ultrasound: a large mᴀss was growing on the left side of her unborn daughter’s neck. 💔

Over the following weeks, the tumor grew at an alarming rate — nearly doubling in size within just four weeks.

Doctors feared it could eventually compress Layla’s airway completely, leaving her unable to breathe when she was born.

So they created an extraordinary plan.

At just 32 weeks, Layla was delivered through a highly specialized procedure known as an EXIT procedure — a rare technique that allows doctors to partially deliver a baby while keeping her connected to the placenta, so she can continue receiving oxygen while specialists secure her airway.

During the operation, Dr. Inna Lobeck and her team carefully delivered Layla’s head, one arm and the enormous neck mᴀss while she remained connected to her mother through the umbilical cord. 🏥

Then came a race against the clock.

The medical team had just minutes to establish an airway.

It took 12 intense minutes to successfully place a breathing tube.

Those minutes were critical.

Without the oxygen supplied through the placenta, Layla could have suffered devastating brain injury or even lost her life before she had the chance to breathe on her own.

Finally, the breathing tube was secured.

Layla could be fully delivered. ❤️

But her battle wasn’t over yet.

The tumor measured an astonishing 17 centimeters — larger than Layla’s own head — and weighed nearly two pounds.

Even with a breathing tube, doctors had to keep her lying on her stomach or side because the enormous weight of the tumor could still compromise her airway.

Then, just four days after birth, Layla underwent another complex operation.

Surgeons carefully removed the mᴀssive tumor.

And this time, they had something to celebrate. 🥹✨

The surgery was successful.

Layla’s recovery went even better than doctors had hoped.

Today, this once-fragile little girl is healthy, thriving and growing beautifully. 🌷💗

Her mother says Layla has healed remarkably well, with very little visible scarring despite everything she endured during the first days of her life.

Just imagine the journey:

From a frightening ultrasound at 16 weeks…

To a tumor growing larger than her head…

To a race against time before her very first breath…

And finally, to a smiling little girl who survived it all. 🥺💪❤️

Layla’s story is a powerful reminder of what can happen when early diagnosis, advanced fetal medicine and an extraordinary medical team come together.

She hadn’t even entered the world yet — and she was already fighting for her life.

Today, she isn’t just surviving.

She’s thriving. 🌈✨

May little Layla continue to grow stronger, happier and healthier with every new day. 💗🙏