Boy born with two faces celebrates his 18th birthday

Agencies | Washington

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A miracle boy, born with an incredibly uncommon disease that gave him two faces, has overcome the expectations to celebrate his 18th birthday after refuting the doctor's presumptions that he wouldn't survive at almost every stage of his life, said a report from the Daily Star.

Tres Johnson from Missouri, the United States has craniofacial duplication, also known as Diprosopus-the Greek word for "two faces". The disease is caused by the 'Sonic the Hedgehog' (SHH) gene. The gene's name comes from its denticles, which are tiny points that resemble the spikes on a hedgehog, the outlet further said.

He was born with two distinct nostrils, a skull with a unique duplicate form, cognitive deficits, and suffers from seizures. He was also born with a large cleft, so large that it ran up his nasal canal, exposing his sinus cavity. He used to suffer up to 400 seizures every day.

Mr Johnson's life has been significantly improved by medication, and according to his parents, cannabis oil consumption has helped to cut the number of seizures he gets each day down to only 40. They decided to use the particular oil seven years ago, the Daily Star further reported.

His 40-year-old mother, Brandy, recalled the moment when she met her son for the first time after giving birth and told the Daily Star, "When they brought him into my room, he was hooked up to a carrier box with all of his monitors. The only thing I could touch was his leg."

"Doctors weren't going to sustain Tres and planned to let him pass if my husband hadn't fought for him. Once I found out he was here and still alive, that was all that mattered to us. We were always in it for the long haul, "she added.

Ms Brandy said that despite Tres having the mental capacity of a child, he is progressing rapidly in every aspect of his life. Because Tres' ailment is so uncommon, the family has had trouble finding medical assistance.

According to the Daily Star, Robert Riddle, a postdoctoral scholar at the Tabin Lab, named the Sonic the Hedgehog gene when his wife brought home a magazine that had an advertisement for a Sonic the Hedgehog video game inside.