Bradenton teen whose leg was amputated during 17-hour surgery to remove tumor heads home from hospital

BRADENTON, Fla. - A Bradenton teen is finally heading home after a nearly 17-hour surgery to remove a tumor and to amputate her left leg. 

"Sometimes, there’s some surprises in your life that can happen," Jasmine Ramirez, 14, said. "And this was one of the surprises in my life that I didn't know that was going to happen."

"That's what she really is, a living miracle," Jasmine’s dad, Manuel Ramirez, added. 

The backstory:

Jasmine Ramirez was born with a normal left leg. But at two-years-old, it suddenly started growing at an abnormal rate. Doctors told the family there wasn’t really a name for her condition and that her tumor does not carry the typical gene mutations often seen in other overgrowth syndromes. 

RELATED: Rare condition forces St. Petersburg doctors to amputate teen's leg

"As far as overgrowth syndromes, we are a major center, a multidisciplinary center here [at John’s Hopkins All Children’s], not only in Florida, but in the southeast. And so we have a large number of youngsters with different disorders. Almost everyone, we can find the gene mutation to explain it," Dr. Jennifer Mayer, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, said. "So, as far as unusual, (Jasmine’s case) is in the top 10 in my career of almost 30 years of searching. But we haven't given up, and we are going to figure it out. And then we are going to call it Jasmine's Gene."

Dig deeper:

Over the years, doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital have worked with hospitals all around the world to try to learn more about Jasmine Ramirez’s condition.    

"As reconstructive surgeons, you don't want to operate when it's unnecessary. And as a pediatric surgeon, you don't want to operate earlier than is appropriate," Dr. Alex Rottgers, a pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, said. "And it's been very hard to predict how Jasmine's leg was going to develop."

Over the past 12 years, Jasmine Ramirez has had several surgeries to make her leg smaller. 

"Our orthopedic colleagues have done procedures to try to slow and stop the growth of her leg, the bones, so that she could grow into it. It hasn't responded like that. And every time we've done surgery to try to make the leg smaller, removing tissue, either with liposuction or with open operations where we've removed abnormal skin or abnormal fat to make it smaller, six months later, it's almost like we hadn't done anything, and it has gotten larger," Rottgers said. "So the unpredictability and the unique nature have somewhat relayed challenges for us."

Jasmine Ramirez also suffered infections related to her leg. Eventually, there were no more antibiotics left to treat those infections. So after her most recent infection, her family made a decision.      

"I said, ‘Jasmine, remember that we spoke about your life or your leg, and we will choose your life? Well, we're here,'" Manuel Ramirez said. 

What they're saying:

Last month, during a nearly 17-hour surgery, doctors removed a tumor and amputated her left leg, which weighed 174 pounds. After surgery, the young teen herself weighed about 80 pounds.  

"Through this journey that I’m having right now, it was really hard for me," Jasmine Ramirez said. "When I was in the PICU, I felt like it was really hard for me. And I didn't know what was going to happen the next day or the day after that. But I've been getting stronger every day. And now, I get to finally go home."

On Wednesday afternoon, she rang the cancer bell and left the hospital to head back to her Manatee County home. She said she’s excited to see her sisters and dog and to also play her guitars and ukulele. 

"Our New Year's resolution with her is to see her happy," an emotional Manuel Ramirez added. "That has been all we want. That's all we wanted."

What's next:

Doctors said Jasmine Ramirez made the selfless decision to allow parts of her leg and tumor to be studied so more can be learned about her condition.