No matter how unusual she may look, her happy face is universal!
American young girl Michelle Kish was born with Hallermann-Streiff syndrome, a genetic and rare disease that caused her face looked unusual.
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Kish has a small beak-like nose, a recessed chin, bilateral cataracts and frontal bossing of the forehead. She also suffered other symptoms like dwarfism, lung disease etc.
She requires round-the-clock medical care through the night and a dedicated nurse to travel with her to school. She also has to visit the hospital frequently.
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But after all, she's a happy angel who is optimistic and bringing laughter to the family.
Mrs Kish praised her daughter: 'She is smart as a whip and happy as ever. She is one of the happiest 20 year olds I know. She loves herself and she really has a lot of confidence, she moves on every day with a happy heart and she makes me happy even when I'm down in the dumps.'
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Kish now dreams of finding a boyfriend like her sister. She said: 'I've never had a boyfriend, but I want one, because I am already 20 and Sarah had her first boyfriend at high school.'
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'I would love a boyfriend with lots of hair. I don't care about the height because pretty much everyone is taller than me!
She also dreams of becoming a medic in the future.
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A South African woman went on trial Monday charged with kidnapping and selling her young daughter in a case that gained national attention.
Kelly Smith is charged alongside her partner and another man over the disappearance of her daughter Joshlin more than a year ago. Joshlin, who was 6 when she disappeared, is still missing following a nationwide police hunt.
Smith — whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith — was charged with kidnapping and human trafficking. Prosecutors alleged she organized the abduction of her daughter in return for payment with the help of her partner Jacquin Appollis and friend Steveno van Rhyn.
All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges as the trial opened in a sports hall in the small coastal town of Saldanha Bay. The trial was moved to the hall to give members of the community an opportunity to attend.
Smith won sympathy across South Africa in the early days of Joshlin's disappearance and neighbors joined together to help police search for the child in sand dunes near the impoverished settlement of shacks and small houses where they lived. Smith claimed she left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she went missing in February 2024 and hadn't seen her again.
The case took a shocking twist when police took Smith in for questioning and later arrested her. Another woman who was arrested was not charged and is reportedly due to testify as a state witness.
Prosecutors said in the indictment that Smith had been planning to sell Joshlin and her two other children since August 2023. Only Joshlin went missing. They also alleged that Smith and Joshlin were seen getting into a white vehicle with a bag of clothes the day the girl was reported missing.
The case has provoked anger in the community. Crowds gathered outside the sports hall, chanting “We want Joshlin back,” according to local media reports.
Judge Nathan Erasmus said the three defendants could face life in prison if they are found guilty.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
FILE - Kelly Smith, the mother of missing Joshlin Smith, appears in court in Vredenburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 7, 2024. (AP Photo, File)
