Maisie Bea Smith arrived on Valentine’s Day — a fitting birthday for a little girl her family describes as one of the most loved and prayed-for babies they have ever known.

Before she was born, Maisie was diagnosed with an encephalocele. This essentially means that a portion of her skull did not form all the way, leaving a dangerous opening where valuable brain fluid could be lost.

Doctors warned her parents that her particular diagnosis could bring serious challenges, and they were unsure what the future would hold.

After meeting specialist after specialist before and after her birth, her parents were amazed to hear many doctors marvel at how well she was doing.

Some children that experience this are not compatible with life outside the womb. Those that do survive are usually met with other significant heart and kidney problems.

Oh, but Maisie – our feisty, firecracker of a girl – has defied every common expectation tied to her diagnosis.

Maisie’s condition is visible in the way her face and skull developed. The right side of her face did not fully form, and she was born without a right eye, nostril, or ear. Her skull — and even the way her brain developed — is uniquely formed.

Yet her family sees far more than a diagnosis.

They’ve seen EVERY specialist before her delivery and now in the NICU. Most have simply marveled at her, acknowledging the sheer lack of precedent for a child with her diagnosis not only to be here, but to be so beautifully and seemingly “normal” despite it all.

“She is our little firecracker,” her parents shared. “Every day with Maisie reminds us that we cannot always see what the future holds, but we can choose to have hope.”

From diagnosis, countless specialist appointments, and the uncertainty surrounding her arrival to her time in the NICU, Maisie has already shown remarkable strength.

Her parents say they have never stopped believing in their daughter.

“We prayed for her, we fought for her, and we will keep walking beside her through every step ahead.”

For this Valentine’s Day baby, her story is only beginning — and already, Maisie has shown the world that sometimes the smallest lives can carry the greatest strength.

Source: Instagram