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Alabama mom: Baby born without nose ‘perfect the way he is’

Brandi McGlathery tends to her son Eli at the NICU at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Ala., on March 19, 2015. Eli was born at South Baldwin Hospital on March 4 without a nose. Besides not having an external nose, he doesn't have a nasal cavity or olfactory system. Eli has an extremely rare condition known as complete congenital arhinia, said his mother, adding that there are only about 37 cases worldwide like his. The chance of being born with congenital arhinia is one in 197 million, she said. (AP Photo/AL.com, Sharon Steinmann) MAGS OUT
Brandi McGlathery tends to her son Eli at the NICU at USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Ala., on March 19, 2015. Eli was born at South Baldwin Hospital on March 4 without a nose. Besides not having an external nose, he doesn't have a nasal cavity or olfactory system. Eli has an extremely rare condition known as complete congenital arhinia, said his mother, adding that there are only about 37 cases worldwide like his. The chance of being born with congenital arhinia is one in 197 million, she said. (AP Photo/AL.com, Sharon Steinmann) MAGS OUT

By Associated Press 2 min read

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – Before Eli Thompson was born, his father joked that he hoped he wouldn’t pass on his nose to his new son.

But moments after little was born, an air of seriousness – and concern – filled the room.

The baby’s mother, Brandi McGlathery, knew immediately that something wasn’t right, she told Al.com (http://bit.ly/1CNf7kN).

“I pulled back and said, ‘Something’s wrong!,'” she said. “And the doctor said, ‘No, he’s perfectly fine.’ Then I shouted, ‘He doesn’t have a nose!'”

Eli Thompson began breathing through his mouth right away on March 4 at a Mobile, Alabama, hospital, McGlathery said.