Baby Who Had 'Zero Percent' Chance of Survival Beat the Odds & Was Dubbed 'Mini Hulk'

A baby born earlier this year came out looking like a bodybuilder because of a rare condition. Her parents didn't know what to make of her situation and were frightened and confused.

Armani Milby, born to Chelsey from Kentucky, is not the average baby. Armani was born with a rare condition that causes her arms and chest to appear swollen, making her look like a bodybuilder.

Armani is still not out of the woods after spending the first three months of her life under specialist care. She needs more surgeries and care in the future, but things are looking up for her and her family.

Chelsey says that despite the trials they have been through since Armani was born, she and the baby are both doing well and recovering nicely from what was a harrowing first three months of Armani's life.

What Happened to Armani?

When Chelsey was 17 weeks pregnant, doctors found something wrong with her baby. Doctors told Chelsey her baby was suffering from a severe form of lymphangioma.

Lymphangioma is a condition that causes benign tumors to grow in the body's lymphatic vessels. The tumors caused swelling in the baby's upper torso and arms so that section of her body was much bigger than the rest.

Doctors told Chelsey that her baby had a "zero percent" chance of survival, yet Armani proved them all wrong. Doctors delivered Armani at 33 weeks via c-section, and she cried as soon as she exited the womb.

Armani weighed 12 pounds at birth and caused her mother to look so big during pregnancy that strangers asked if she was expecting triplets. However, when Chelsey got the news about Armani's diagnosis, she was distraught.

Chelsey, who has two other children, was confused about how this had happened to her daughter when she had two other healthy children. She admitted:

"I had never, ever heard of the diagnosis before, and honestly, I had looked into it, and I didn't really like the results with some of the pictures. When I found out, to be honest, I was devastated, I was heartbroken."

Now that Armani has been born and is a happy and relatively healthy baby, Chelsey's fears have decreased slightly. When Armani was born, her mother dubbed her the "mini hulk" but has since begun calling her "squishy" because of her surgeries to remedy her condition.

What Is Armani's Health Status Now?

Armani had surgeries to help drain the excess fluid that had collected in her lymphatic vessels, which has left her "squishy," as her mother says. She now has excess skin, which Chelsey thinks she will soon grow into.

Once Armani grows into the excess skin around her body, she will look like a normal baby. The only difference between Armani and other children will be the scarring that she will have from her surgeries. However, Chelsey is grateful she has come this far, saying:

"She got lucky. She's not deformed or anything like that. I've actually seen some cases where they have, and God bless them kids they're fighters. She's happy. She hardly ever cries unless she wants to be held. We're trying to do everything for this baby and give her the best life possible."

Armani is now nine months old and will undergo surgery again later this year to remove excess lymphatic vessels and skin from her previous surgeries. While Armani is doing much better, it has taken Chelsey longer to recover.

Chelsey admitted that she suffered postpartum depression when Armani was born and said she had to fight against it to be as strong as possible for her other two children, who still needed her.

Although she has come a long way since Armani was born regarding her mental health, Chelsey admitted that she struggles a little daily. Yet she is grateful that her daughter is okay and believes she is a "miracle baby."

Chelsey says that Armani is even meeting her milestones and has begun rolling over. She is also confident that her daughter is well on her way to saying "mama." Above all, Chelsey is grateful that her daughter is healthy and doing well.

While Chelsey learned about her baby's condition and was devastated she might suffer, she was happy to welcome her child into the world. For another family, the situation was a little more complicated. Find the full story here.