A seven-week-old baby has been diagnosed with a rare birth condition which caused an egg-sized swelling, like a little horn, to protrude from his head.

Nhel Jhon Prado threw doctors off-balance after they discover the “horn” on the baby’s head when he was born. Reports say doctors did not notice the protrusion during antenatal.

Prado is said to suffer from encephalocele, a rare birth defect in which the neural tube that affects the development of the brain pushes through the skull. The exact cause of the condition is not known.

Encephalocele is treated with surgery to place the protruding part of the brain and the membranes covering it back into the skull.

But his parents, Angel Puerto and Ronel Prado, both 20 years old, say they cannot afford the cost of the life-saving operation.

“The doctors used ultrasound tests but didn’t notice anything wrong with Nhel while I was pregnant,” Angel said.

“When he was born they said that my baby is lucky that the brain was not affected or damaged by the lumps.

“We have never seen a baby like this before, so we try to look at it like a blessing. Like he is a special little unicorn baby.

“We still don’t know yet how to pay the medical bills. We just have to figure that out once the operation is done, but for now, our priority is to get him the surgery.”

When Nhel was born, the lump was just the size of an egg but it has swollen and grown rapidly over the last two months.

CT scans showed that the growth is benign and medics say his brain will not be affected.

The baby boy is expected to make a full recovery after he has the operation.

The baby’s father, a delivery driver, said:

“I hope that my baby gets better soon. I know he can do it. We will do everything we can.

“The swelling has grown so quickly it’s hard to believe. It has doubled in size in just a few weeks.

“I would like to see my boy get older so I can play soccer with him like other children do. He deserves that, he’s so beautiful.”

Source – MIRROR