A rare and huge mole occurs in about 1 in 20 thousand children, but the leading surgeon who undertook to treat the disease called this case the worst he had ever seen.
Let’s tell everything in order about the little hero who managed to overcome a big problem on his body. The turtle boy from Colombia, 8-year-old Didier Montalvo from Colombia, suffered from a rare disease known as congenital melanocytic nevus, that is, a large birthmark on the body.
The boy’s mole became so large that by the age of six it covered his entire back, like a turtle shell, for which he received the nickname «turtle boy». A rare birthmark – congenital melanocytic nevus – occurs in about 1 in 20 thousand newborns, but a leading British surgeon who volunteered to treat and operate on the child described Didier’s condition as the worst he had ever seen.
Didier’s life was seriously affected by a tumor that covered more than half of his body, both because of the painful itching of the skin, and because it significantly reduced the boy’s self-confidence. Residents of the boy’s native village in rural Colombia in South America avoided him and his family, and his mother was once even told that she was to blame for everything, because she saw a solar eclipse during pregnancy.
The family was very poor to fork out for the operation, but the boy’s life changed when his touching story was published in a local newspaper, and a flood of donations poured in. After a long wait, the boy’s family finally sent him to a military hospital, where he underwent a two-hour operation, during which the growth was successfully removed. After the operation, the enthusiastic boy replied to reporters: «I’m looking forward to going out in the sun shirtless and swimming with friends.»
