In Florida, a teenager named Jasmine Ramirez, aged 14, has undergone a challenging 17-hour surgery to amputate her left leg, which had grown to weigh more than twice the rest of her body.
Jasmine hails from Bradenton, approximately 50 minutes south of Tampa. She faced this life-altering surgery due to a rare condition that caused her leg to swell to an astonishing 170 pounds, leaving medical professionals at a loss for a diagnosis.
The extensive procedure was carried out at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, where doctors removed her left leg in a bid to save her life. Alongside the amputation, a tumor was also extracted from her abdomen, marking a significant point in her medical history that began when she was just two years old.
According to her family, the first sign of something being amiss was when Jasmine’s left leg started growing much faster compared to the rest of her body.
Her sister, Anastashia Ramirez, shared with Fox 13, “As her sister, [me] and my other siblings that lived in that house, we knew it wasn’t normal, but we always tried to treat Jasmine as if she was a normal kid.”
Initially, Jasmine could walk, but over time, the leg’s size and weight made walking impossible, necessitating the use of a wheelchair. The family also had to tailor her clothes to accommodate the unusual growth.
Anastashia further explained, “We always tried our best to help her out and make her feel better. It was a little more heartbreaking to my parents because they’re trying their best. They’re listening to doctors, medical professionals, but there’s not much that they can do because they don’t know what is causing it.”
The rare condition, according to doctors, is so unique that it lacks an official name and is currently managed as a lymphomatous tumor.
Anastashia elaborated, “Like her arteries, her veins, the fat, the mass of it, her bone – all of it just kind of grew at an abnormal rate.”
Earlier in the year, a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant infection linked to her leg forced the family to opt for amputation.
The surgery, which lasted 16.5 hours, resulted in the removal of a leg that weighed over 170 pounds, leaving Jasmine at approximately 80 pounds post-operation. Encouragingly, her recovery is progressing well.
Her older sister shared, “She’s getting back to her normal self now, but it is going to be quite an adjustment for her, coming into this new chapter of her life.”
To support Jasmine’s medical expenses and provide for the family while they stay with her full-time, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched. Her sister wrote on the fundraiser page: “Your donation will allow our parents to be present with her around the clock, ensuring she gets the best care during her hardest journey yet.”