Fourteen-year-old Jasmine Ramirez, who lives in Bradenton, around a 50-minute drive south of Tampa, was forced to have the life-altering surgery after developing an extremely rare medical condition that caused her leg to grow uncontrollably to around 170 pounds, leaving specialists searching for answers.
The lengthy procedure was carried out at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, where surgeons ultimately removed her left leg in a bid to prevent further serious complications and protect her life.
According to her family, the first signs that something was wrong appeared early on, when Jasmine’s left leg started growing at a much faster rate than the rest of her body.
“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,” her sister Anastashia Ramirez told Fox 13.
“We always tried our best to help her out and make her feel better,” Ramirez explained.
“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.”
“Like her arteries, her veins, the fat, the mass of it, her bone – all of it just kind of grew at an abnormal rate,” Ramirez added.
During the roughly 16.5-hour operation, the leg alone weighed just over 170 pounds, while Jasmine herself weighed around 80 pounds after the surgery.
Despite the trauma of the procedure, those closest to her say her recovery so far has been a positive one.
The family has since set up a GoFundMe page to help cover mounting medical bills, as well as basic living costs while Jasmine’s parents remain by her side around the clock during her recovery.
In the fundraiser, her sister wrote: “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.”
