On September 17, 2017, baby Owen Masterson ( Missouri, USA) was born with acalvaria – a rare condition that causes the fetus to be born without the bones of the face and skull. His parents Tom and Jessica said their son had little chance of survival. Even before that, the doctor predicted that Owen would most likely lose his life in the womb or easily get traumatized when he was born. Together, they suggested that  the pregnancy should be aborted.

Owen Masterson was born with a skull defect and some facial bones

Owen’s condition was discovered after an ultrasound at 24 weeks pregnant, when doctors weren’t sure if his brain was completely covered by his skull. After seeing an ultrasound specialist, Tom and Jessica were told that Owen had “very abnormal brain development” but the doctor was unable to diagnose the baby’s specific condition. At 27 weeks pregnant, they announced Owen had acalvaria, which is unlikely to survive.

However, the couple from start to finish insisted on keeping the baby. Despite all the bad predictions that the doctors made, the baby boy was born in the happiness of the whole family. “I felt that when he was in my mother’s womb, he was safe. I couldn’t do anything when he was born and after that. I thought like that, that my son needed to stay.” , Jessica said.

The doctors diagnosed the baby as not likely to survive, so the mother should think about stopping the pregnancy, which means aborting the baby

A day and a half after his birth, Owen was allowed to go home, and the medical community was stunned by his strong survival ability. Despite an ear infection and a stomach virus infection, Owen survived in a fairly stable condition for the first year. However, she can’t crawl or move as easily as other babies and needs mobility aids.

Owen survived despite all the bad predictions the doctors made

However, the boy has many difficulties without a skull, weak health and cannot move on his own like other children.

So far, Owen is 4 years old and his health condition is still quite good. With a missing skull and some birth defects, the boy, despite many difficulties, still does well every day.

Doctors do not know how long Owen will be able to live, but the family is always optimistic, believing that there is still hope when the son has been strong against “Death” for the past 4 years. The couple Tom and Jessica still occasionally share pictures of the boy on their social networking sites. To them, Owen is a resilient “warrior” and they will always put their trust in him.