Baby born without skin celebrates first birthday New Year’s Day
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A baby born without skin who FOX 26 introduced viewers to April 2019 is celebrating his first birthday as the New Year begins.
Ja’bari Gray was at Texas Children's Hospital since April, where he had to put up a big fight. He had major surgery on May 24.
Surgeons placed skin grafts on the exposed wounds of his body and skillfully positioned the fragile grafts, which were grown from Ja’bari’s own skin cells, with the goal of wound closure in due time.
Ja’bari was in critical condition and required ongoing wound care as he recovered from the procedure. In September, his breathing tube was removed, allowing him to breathe on his own, something that didn't originally seem possible.
In November, Ja’bari was upgraded from critical condition to fair and has since had many milestones.
Ja’bari will still need medical care in the future, his family and those following his story over the past six months are thrilled that Texas Children's was able to treat his condition and eventually send him home.
Priscilla Maldonado, Ja’bari’s mother, moved her entire family to Houston over the summer. She says starting over has been hard but thankful that Ja'bari never gave up.
To follow Ja'bari's progress, his mother has made a Facebook group.
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