Virsaviya Borun, 14, has been told by doctors that she is not expected to live past 30 but her mother believes that because her daughter beat the odds once, she will do it again.
A teen with a rare medical condition who wasn’t expected to live days past her birth celebrated her 14th birthday.
Virsaviya Borun was born with a rare medical condition known as pentalogy of Cantrell. Due to the condition, her heart beats outside her chest and has been protected by only a thin layer of skin since her birth.
“My condition is one in a million,” Borun says.
Inside Edition followed Borun’s story in 2017 when Borun was only 8 years old.
“The doctors told me that she will not make it even to one day, but now she’s fourteen,” Borun's mother tells Inside Edition.
Despite making it well past what was expected, Borun has to be careful due to her condition.
“I can’t do any physical activities or run,” Borun says. “My stamina has gone down a lot over the years so I can’t even do as much as tying my shoes without losing my breath.”
She used to wear a protective shield to help prevent injuries to her exposed heart, but now she says she has a natural instinct to protect it.
“My heart doesn’t worry me at all, I feel like I am able to protect myself,” Borun tells Inside Edition.
Borun credits her life not to a miracle but rather a result of her mother’s love and support
“It's less of a miracle and more of my mother's love,” she says. “My mom believed, I don’t think it’s anything but that.”
There are only 250 documented cases of pentalogy of Cantrell in the world. Borun doesn’t let the rarity of her condition phase her.
“You shouldn't care what other people say about you or think about you, what you think of yourself is the most important,” she says.
Borun has been told by doctors that she is not expected to live past 30 but her mother believes that because her daughter beat the odds once, she will do it again.
