Baby Born With Rare Condition Congenital Arhinia: Leaves Him Without A Nose

Eli Thompson's mother knew something was wrong just moments after he was born.

"I pulled back and said, ‘Something's wrong!," Brandhi McGlathery said, via AL. com. "And the doctor said, ‘No, he's perfectly fine. Then I shouted. ‘He doesn't have a nose!'"

Fortunately Eli had been breathing through his mouth. He was born with a very rare condition known as congenital arthinia, which affects fewer than 40 around the world, according to officials at the University of South Alabama Children's Hospital and Women's Hospital via a statement they made on their Facebook page.

After the diagnosis, Eli was moved to the neonatal intensive care unit at the Children's & Women's Hospital and underwent a tracheotomy at just 5 days old, Brandi McGlathery said.

"Between the nurses here and Ronald McDonald House, everyone has gone above and beyond," she said. "The nurse from the pod comes to check on her 'boyfriend.' She got attached to him."

It will take a bit of time before Eli's nasal passages can be opened. He'll have to be older, around 5, to undergo surgery for that, when they can be rebuilt. But until then, his family thinks he's just perfect as he is.

"We think he's perfect the way he is," she said. "Until the day he wants to have a nose, we don't want to touch him. We have to take it day by day."