TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County mother continues to be a voice for her young daughter after she was born missing an ear.
Rachel Phillips recalls how doctors immediately realized her daughter was missing her left ear at birth.
"When she was first born, there was something wrong with her ear. Our OB said something’s wrong with her ear, call Peds and when they brought her up, immediately, I saw that she was missing her ear," said Phillips.
Her daughter, Avonlea, was born with microtia (Type III) in June of 2023. It is a birth defect in which the external ear is not properly formed.
"She's completely deaf in her left side. She does have a cochlear so with the hearing aid, she is able to hear," said Phillips.
Phillips said her daughter remains resilient after being diagnosed with more than a dozen other medical conditions. Conditions include GERD, aspiration, Sandifer syndrome and hypoplasia (underdevelopment of her jaw).
Doctors are also monitoring a mass behind her daughter's left eye.
"It's up against her optic nerve, kind of woven between the eye fat and eye muscles up against her sinuses and just due to the fragility and difficult location, nobody is wanting to biopsy it. So at this time, we're just kind of on a hope and a prayer and working with the oncology team."
The 11-month-old also has trouble eating, swallowing and sleeping.
"Just a lot of different diagnoses going on. She has a floppy airway. She silently aspirates milk. She did not know how to drink milk. We had to teach her how to suck, swallow, breathe. She was choking a lot with milk," said Phillips.
"She requires 24/7 care just with her feeding and she has trouble sleeping. She has obstructive sleep apnea as well," she added.
Despite the weekly doctor's appointments, she said her daughter continues to smile.
"She's very social, very resilient just like a bright, spark of sunshine," she said.
Phillips continues to work, but her husband left his job to care for their daughter.
The community is raising money online through a GoFundMe page to help the family pay bills.
"We're just starting to drown in debt and just being down to one salary, the toll, it has taken on us, physically, emotionally and mentally with everything that is going on with her and not having family close by," said Phillips.
Phillips encourages parents to be a voice for their child.
"Especially for me being a first time mom and a new mom. It's really learning how to advocate for her... I really had to learn how to advocate for her and to really speak up for her."
"I'm just so in love with her. She's just amazing. She's the sweetest. She's the most amazing. She loves life and she just really makes you smile."
To learn more about how to help baby Avonlea and her family visit, click here.
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