It is downright heartbreaking to see your baby suffer, but the tears shed Monday mark the road to a better and brighter tomorrow.
Little Maddox Flynn was born with a rare condition that caused two tumors to claim the left side of his face.
In May, doctors at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital removed the growth above his eye.
Monday, the 2-year-old toddler was carried back into the operating room in his mother's arms to have the second cyst in his cheek taken out.
The six-hour procedure was full of complications.
Doctors had to be careful not to damage the tangle of nerves in his face, and they believe they came out victorious.
"Everything went exceptionally well," Dr. Milton Waner said. "We are able to remove the tumor, we got the vast majority, 95 percent gone."
Poor Maddox was very uncomfortable and confused once he awoke.
However, his parents know it was worth every tear to give him a face the world won't consider monstrous, a face other children won't tease or fear.
The family is from Canada.
His parents were initially told there was no cure for his birth condition and that the tumors would continue to overtake his face.
So, they consider it a miracle that doctors in New York were able to give little Maddox a gift more precious than gold - a chance for a normal healthy life.
