Blaire Spivey, 5, from Lubock, Texas, was born with sirenomelia – a rare congenital deformity in which the legs are fused together, giving the appearance of a mermaid’s tail.
Her mum – dental assistant Noelle – was told by doctors that there was little chance of survival after her condition was revealed at her 12-week-scan.
Noelle said: “I was terrified I would be scared of my baby while I was pregnant.”
Reliving the terrifying moment the doctor told her of Noelle’s condition, the mum revealed: “The doctor came in an essentially said – ‘your baby has a fatal condition’.
“I started crying – it had been hard enough to get pregnant.
“They said ‘it’s not a matter of if she’s going to die but a matter of when’.”
Miraculously, Blaire defied the odds and survived an arduous seven-hour operation to separate her legs when she was 18 months old.
Her legs were then amputated from the knees down.
And now, after having new full-length prosthetic legs attached, Blaire has taken her first independent steps.
Noelle, 35, said she now gushes with pride at her daughter’s unique condition.
She said: “When I saw her little feet and little heart I wasn’t terrified at all.
“I thought – ‘she’s just my baby’.
“She’s perfect.
“I tell her she was born a mermaid. And I say to her – ‘not everyone is used to cool legs like you’.
“They thought she wouldn’t walk.
“She’s beaten the odds.”
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