This Baby Was Born Without a Nose. His Parents Say He's Perfect.

Timothy Eli Thompson was born on March 4, 2015 at South Baldwin Hospital in Alabama to Brandi McGlathery and Troy Thompson, according to his Facebook page. He weighed 6 pounds and 8 ounces and was born with a rare condition called congenital arhinia. This means he doesn’t have a nose.

Congenital arhinia is the absence of nasal passages and structures at birth, and fewer than 30 cases have been reported, according to the Journal of Medical Case Reports. His mother says that the chances of being born with Eli’s condition is 1 in 197 million, according to the Mobile Press-Register.

Baby Eli began breathing out of his mouth immediately after birth, McGlathery told the outlet. Then, at 5 days old, he had a tracheotomy which further helps him to breath. He’s been a happier baby ever since.

It’s possible that someday a plastic surgeon could build Eli an external nose, but his family will cross that bridge when the time comes.

“We think he’s perfect the way he is,” McGlathery told thePress-Register. “Until the day he wants to have a nose, we don’t want to touch him.”

Check out some more photos of Baby Eli below:

For more information on Eli, visit his Facebook page or go to his GoFundMe site.

h/t BuzzFeed

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