Baby with fatal brain disorder ‘saved’ by anonymous $47K donation

A Florida babe who was fixed conscionable weeks to unrecorded is thriving contiguous — and it wouldn’t person been imaginable without the generosity of an anonymous donor who covered her aesculapian bills.

When Bill and Meg Longhenry welcomed their 2nd child, Millie, successful August 2023, they were told she had nary anticipation of endurance owed to a uncommon and terrible congenital encephalon upset called alobar holoprosencephaly (HPE).

HPE affects astir 1 successful 10,000 unrecorded births, and astir infants bash not past beyond the archetypal week, statistic show. Millie was calved with the astir terrible signifier of the disease.

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"We recovered retired that she has a uncommon encephalon malformation wherever portion of her encephalon didn't develop, and the different portion didn't make correctly," Meg Longhenry said successful an on-camera interrogation with Fox News Digital. 

"So there's nary part betwixt the 2 hemispheres and the mediate is hollow."

Millie Longhenry (left) was diagnosed with a terrible congenital encephalon malformation called alobar holoprosencephaly (HPE) astatine 2 months old. (Nadine B. Photography)

Doctors told the parents that "Millie should person been a miscarriage oregon a stillbirth," her parent said. "She should person died moments aft birth."

"They told america implicit 95% of patients with this diagnosis don't past past the archetypal fewer months … and anyone who survives past that requires an tremendous woody of aesculapian care, similar feeding tubes and breathing tubes," said Bill Longhenry. "Usually they person nary encephalon function."

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After spending 2 months successful the hospital, Millie was sent location connected hospice attraction with 4 to six months to unrecorded — but the Longhenrys weren’t acceptable to springiness up.

"God had thing other successful mind," said Bill Longhenry. "God had a antithetic plan, and lone God was capable to truly marque that decision."

"Millie should person been a miscarriage oregon a stillbirth," doctors told the baby’s parents.

A person recommended that Millie’s parents link with Dr. Brandon Crawford, a functional neurologist astatine the NeuroSolution Center of Austin, who specializes successful utilizing non-invasive techniques without drugs oregon surgery.

Upon reviewing MRIs and examining Millie, Crawford said helium saw "huge potential."

Millie, pictured with her large brother, Theo, was calved with the astir terrible signifier of alobar holoprosencephaly. (Nadine B. Photography)

While overmuch of her encephalon is missing, helium said, the higher information is "relatively intact and functioning well," helium told Fox News Digital.

"I started to get the thought that this kiddo is truly trying — she's not connected the decline, she's really truly warring to unrecorded her beingness successful this world."

Defying the odds

Under Crawford’s care, Millie began a attraction program that included laser airy therapies, acoustic question therapy that uses dependable waves to stimulate earthy healing processes, and primitive reflex integration, which "retrains" the brain-body transportation and helps babies larn to amended power their movements.

Dr. Marcella Madera, a neurosurgeon who serves arsenic NeuroSolution’s aesculapian director, besides collaborates connected Millie’s attraction to guarantee information and efficacy.

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"It’s this operation of regenerative medicine, developmental functional neurology, and photobiomodulation that’s sparking and fueling her encephalon improvement and gathering neuroplasticity," Crawford told Fox News Digital successful a abstracted interview. 

"For example, she tin intelligibly spot and she responds to ocular cues — yet she doesn't person the bulk of those ocular pathways developed successful her brain," helium went on. "That means her encephalon has rewired and remapped the quality to see, and that's the astonishing part, that the encephalon is capable to bash that."

At NeuroSolution Center of Austin, Millie began a attraction program that included laser airy therapies, acoustic question therapy that uses dependable waves to stimulate earthy healing processes, and primitive reflex integration. (Bill and Meg Longhenry)

Bill Longhenry describes the attraction arsenic "combining carnal therapy with neural functions."

Today, Crawford said, Millie is not lone surviving, but thriving — thing that is precise uncommon for this condition.

"She continues to turn and make and is getting stronger," helium said. "We're moving connected crawling with her close present — that's unheard of for this. Her associated attraction continues to improve, adjacent her quality to eat."

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Millie is besides starting to vocalize, Crawford said, saying "Mom" and "Dad" and communicating with her large brother, Theo.

"She's got a spunky small personality, and it's amazing," helium said. "Honestly, if you look astatine her and interact with her successful idiosyncratic and past look astatine her MRI, you wouldn't deliberation it's the aforesaid kid."

Millie is smiling, laughing and responding to her name. She besides understands people’s code and uses motion language, her household said. (Nadine B. Photography)

Millie is smiling, laughing and responding to her name. She besides understands people’s code and is utilizing motion language. 

"Millie would not beryllium present contiguous if we weren't doing the antithetic things to assistance her brain, to assistance her rewire," added Meg Longhenry.

Answered prayers

Last month, Millie’s household faced the anticipation of canceling her intensive neurological therapy owed to fiscal constraints.

Meg Longhenry had precocious fto Crawford cognize they would person to cancel their adjacent attraction owed to deficiency of funds — but helium told her to travel successful anyway.

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"I said, don't interest astir it, conscionable come. There's nary mode I'm dropping attraction with Millie — we've travel excessively far."

On the greeting of March 27, arsenic Crawford’s squad was astir to execute different regenerative medicine process with Millie, they prayed for divine intervention, helium told Fox News Digital.

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"A mates of hours later, we got the random telephone call," helium said. "It was different diligent who has been pursuing Millie's story, and she said, ‘I consciousness similar I'm expected to donate thing for Millie’s case, and my beforehand table said, well, that would beryllium amazing."

Bill Longhenry is pictured holding his daughter, Millie. "She continues to turn and make and is getting stronger," helium said. (Bill and Meg Longhenry)

The donor offered to screen the full outstanding equilibrium for Millie’s attraction — much than $47,000.

"It's conscionable intolerable to recognize that level of generosity from a stranger," said Bill Longhenry. 

"We person to prosecute this treatment, but it's not covered by insurance, truthful we're conscionable doing immoderate we tin to marque it work."

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Ultimately, the Longhenrys did find retired who covered the aesculapian expenses — a erstwhile diligent of Dr Crawford’s. They were capable to telephone her and convey her for the donation.

While this anonymous acquisition clears a large fiscal hurdle, Millie’s travel is acold from over, the household shared. 

Millie is pictured with her large brother, Theo. In March, an anonymous donor called NeuroSolution Center of Austin and offered to screen the Longhenrys' outstanding aesculapian debt. (Bill and Meg Longhenry)

She volition necessitate follow-up therapy each 4 to six months, specialized location instrumentality and question for continued care, which security does not cover.

"I deliberation the finances are ever truly scary for america … but there's not a terms that I could enactment connected her life," Meg Longhery said. "I'll proceed to combat and bash what I request to bash truthful she tin person the champion beingness that she can."

"There's not a terms that I could enactment connected her life."

The household besides relies heavy connected their faith, believing that Jesus worked done Dr. Campbell to assistance prevention Millie’s life, according to her mother.

"We serve specified a large God that helium is greater than our biggest fears — helium is the top physician, and helium aligns america with wherever we request to beryllium and who we request to be," she said.

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"And it's truthful encouraging to spot the maturation that we were told repeatedly we wouldn't see."

For much accusation astir Millie’s travel and progress, radical tin visit MovingMountainsForMillie.org oregon @movingmountainsformillie connected Instagram.