US mom: Baby born without nose is perfect the way he is

MOBILE, Alabama - The Associated Press

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Before Eli Thompson was born, his father joked that he hoped he wouldn't pass on his nose to his new son.
     
But moments after Eli's birth, an air of seriousness - and concern - filled the room.
     
Mother Brandi McGlathery tells Al.com  she knew immediately that something wasn't right.
    
She shouted, "He doesn't have a nose!"
     
McGlathery says Eli began breathing through his mouth right away March 4 at a Mobile, Alabama, hospital.
     
McGlathery says her son was born with a rare condition known as complete congenital arhinia.
     
She says she and husband Troy "think he's perfect the way he is."
    
The University of South Alabama Children's & Women's Hospital said in a statement on its Facebook account that the condition affects fewer than 40 other people around the world.