A 17-year-old girl, who was at risk of dying from an enormous football-sized tumour, has had life-saving surgery.
Grace, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, would have eventually died from suffocation if the aggressive bone tumour had
continued to grow.
The huge tumour, which was larger than the young girl's head, started growing in the centre of the jaw bone - formed by cells that
usually make the enamel of teeth.
Miraculously Grace was still able to speak and eat but was so self-conscious that she stopped going to school.
After local hospitals failed to help, charity hospital Mercy Ships admitted the teen for a four-hour operation to remove the debilitating
tumour, as well as her lower jaw and teeth.
Grace had been suffering with the unsightly tumour for ten years as it gradually increased
in size.
Together with her mother she went to the local
hospital to get help - but doctors remained
baffled by her condition and offered no treatment.
"It started from a little swelling inside and the
gums started growing little by little," said Grace.
"We went to hospital and they didn't know what it was - they did nothing."
Grace's mother Christine was left to watch her daughter suffer and had no idea who to turn to for help.
"I didn't know what to do - in hospital they just talked a lot but did nothing," said
Christine.
Meanwhile Grace was stuck indoors suffering
from the horrific growth.
"I was sick, I was always indoors, I was not
happy anymore, I worried all the time," said grace.
Eventually the teen was discovered by a Christian pastor who campaigned to get her medical help.
The pastor posted Grace's story on the church
website and a reader told them about Mercy
Ships.
Dr Parker added: "To remove the tumour we
had to open the neck to allow access to the jaw and separate the tumour from the normal
jaw."
After cutting away the football-sized lump Dr Parker replaced the removed jaw with metal
plates made of titanium.
"When she heals six months from now she can
have artificial teeth if she wants," said Dr Parker.
"That will help her with her chewing - appearance-wise and functionally she should
be able to have a normal life."
Grace's life has been completely transformed
by the surgery.
With her new-found confidence, she is hoping
to study medicine and pursue a career in nursing so that she can help others with complicated medical conditions in the future.
www.dailystar.co.uk/real-life/402459/Yan-four-stone-tumour-removed-body

wow..imagine what medical science can do
Thank God for a successful operation
She will still need a plastic surgery to remove those scars permanently and restore her beauty.\
she is a pretty gal

Whenever you wake in the morning, look left, right, up and down then sing glory to God. You know at times we get carried away by our unending request that we fail to recognize God's blessing in out lives.

lillyjane:
Whenever you wake in the morning, look left, right, up and down then sing glory to God. You know at times we get carried away by our unending request that we fail to recognize God's blessing in out lives.

na so o my sister