A mother has opened up about the emotional journey of raising her little boy after doctors discovered he was born with a rare condition affecting multiple parts of his body.

Myles Weston Ray Outlaw was diagnosed with VACTERL association, an extremely uncommon condition involving several birth defects and abnormalities that affects fewer than one percent of children.

To receive the diagnosis, a child must have at least three of the condition’s defining characteristics. Little Myles was born with four — including spinal abnormalities, anal atresia, kidney complications, and limb differences.

But for his parents, the road to understanding what was happening began long before he entered the world.

His mother recalled how concerns first appeared during her 20-week anatomy scan, when doctors struggled to properly view parts of the baby’s heart and kidney.

“At first, everything had seemed normal,” she explained. “Then suddenly we were being referred to specialists, and our whole world changed.”

Over the following months, the couple endured a whirlwind of testing, appointments, scans, and uncertainty. An amniocentesis came back normal, but further scans revealed additional concerns, including a single umbilical artery, gastrointestinal complications, and major differences in his limbs.

By 36 weeks pregnant, doctors finally sat the couple down to explain the full extent of Myles’ condition.

They learned his right kidney was fused to the left, his legs were developing differently due to missing bones, his feet were clubbed, and parts of his forearms and fingers had not fully formed.

“By that point, we were emotionally exhausted,” his mother admitted. “We had spent months hoping for answers.”

Myles was born on July 6, at 39 weeks.

But instead of the joyful birth experience she had imagined, his mother says she felt overwhelmed by fear and heartbreak.

“When he was delivered, I remember asking, ‘Are his arms and legs there?’” she recalled.

After seeing a full-body photo taken shortly after birth, she says she went into shock.

“I couldn’t even look at it properly at first,” she admitted. “Everything felt so overwhelming.”

Myles spent his first four weeks in the NICU before finally being allowed home — but even then, the family faced countless medical appointments, colostomy care, surgeries, and uncertainty about the future.

His mother later fell into depression as she struggled to process the life-changing diagnosis.

“I would see other babies and cry,” she shared. “I kept asking myself, ‘Why us? Why our baby?’”

She admitted she avoided social situations, struggled seeing other families online, and found herself grieving the future she once imagined for her son.

But slowly, something began to change.

As Myles grew older, his personality started shining through the medical challenges.

His smile captivated everyone around him. He learned to adapt, finding ways to use his hands and feet despite the differences he was born with.

“He showed us every day that he loved his life,” his mother said. “That changed everything for me.”

Myles later underwent surgeries to help correct his clubbed foot and repair his anal atresia. With each milestone, his parents began seeing their son not through the lens of limitations — but through his determination and strength.

“I stopped focusing on ‘why him?’ and started seeing who he truly was,” she explained.

Now, the proud mother says her son has completely transformed her understanding of strength, purpose, and unconditional love.

“Of course I once wished things were different,” she admitted. “But now I truly believe Myles is exactly who he is supposed to be.”

She added: “He has taught me more about courage and resilience than I could ever teach him.”