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

St. Petersburg, Fla. - A Bradenton teen is recovering from a nearly 17-hour surgery where doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg amputated her left leg.

"She's getting back to her normal self now," Anastashia Ramirez said of her 14-year-old sister, Jasmine Ramirez. "But it is going to be quite an adjustment for her, coming into this new chapter of her life."

The backstory:

When Jasmine was two-years-old, her family noticed her left leg was growing much faster than her right leg.  "As her sister -- and my other siblings that lived in that house -- we knew it wasn't normal, but we always tried to treat Jasmine as if she was a normal kid," Anastashia Ramirez told FOX 13. 

At first, Jasmine was able to walk, her family said. But eventually, her leg got so large, she had to use a wheelchair. 

The family had to have her clothes tailored so they would fit.  "We always tried our best to help her out and make her feel better," Anastashia Ramirez said of Jasmine, the youngest of seven siblings. "And of course, with my parents, it's hard for them. Seeing their child go through something like this that you can't control. It was a little more heartbreaking to my parents because they're trying their best. They're listening to doctors, medical professionals, but there's not much that they can do because they don't know what is causing it."

Jasmine’s family said doctors told them the teen’s condition is so rare, there isn’t an official name for it.  "Like her arteries, her veins, the fat, the mass of it, her bone -- all of it just kind of grew at an abnormal rate," Anastashia Ramirez said. 

What we know:

The 14-year-old has already undergone several surgeries to manage the growth. But more recently, an infection related to her leg threatened her life. So Jasmine’s family made the tough decision to amputate it. 

During a 16.5 hour surgery, doctors at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg removed a tumor in her abdomen and amputated her leg, which weighed just over 170 pounds. After surgery, the young teen herself weighed about 80 lbs. 

"She's doing better every day," Anastashia Ramirez said. "She's getting out of bed. They're putting her in the wheelchair. She was able to hold up her weight with her arms, like on the scale. She’s been doing great."

What's next:

Jasmine’s family is now raising money online to help pay for expenses for what they know is going to be a long road ahead. 

But if anybody can do it, it’s their spunky teenager, who loves anime and going out for hot pot. "I had no doubt that she would be strong enough to do all this stuff. Everyone keeps telling her that she's doing a great job, that she is surpassing everybody's expectations at this point," Anastashia Ramirez said. "We know we're not going to be home for Christmas, but we feel like we're going to go home sooner than we thought."

By sharing Jasmine’s story, the family hopes to raise awareness about her very rare condition. While they’re still looking for answers, they’re incredibly proud of how far Jasmine has already come. "She’s a trooper. She’s a superhero, honestly. All that strength and courage it takes to do this — it takes a lot," Anastashia Ramirez added.