Gabriela was born on July 16th, 2001 with Hemangioma, lymphangioma and gigantism in her feet and left hand.

After only two days of her birth the doctor told us about Klippel Trenauney and Proteus Syndromes.

So we started to go to a lot of doctors seeking treatment. It was terrible to see their faces full of doubts.

It has been a hard time for us, because we couldn’t understand what we did wrong or if she would live. Especially because we didn’t have anyone who had passed through the same situation. No one could understand what we were feeling.

The most important doctor was the pediatrician who knew about the syndromes and has been following Gabriela till now. Today, he is more than a doctor to us.

After 5 months we found, through the internet, the Hospital A.C.Camargo, São Paulo/Brazil, which has a department that treats diseases related to Hemangioma. They diagnosed Gabriela characteristics as Proteus Syndrome.

It was our first contact with other patients with Hemangioma and that made all the difference in the world to us. Discovering people to exchange experiences brought hope and the desire to fight for everybody.

Gabriela has undergone 2 plastic surgeries and will undergo another one this year. The surgeries are to correct her feet and to use OK 432 in lymphangioma areas. She also uses laser on superficial lesions.

Sometimes she goes to Hospital because of infection.

We are worried about her social life and we always go out with her to look people in the face. We believe that we are preparing society for accepting our little girl.

It’s incredible how much our attitudes have influenced people around us. Mostly, when someone comes up to us it is to bring some hope.

She doesn't understand what is going on, but we know that the time will arrive. It is one more reason to look for information, to meet other patients like Gabi and to know about treatments. It is also one of the reasons to be part of VBF.

We do everything to make her life as normal as it could be.

Since Gabriela was born our life has changed a lot. For the better! We thank God for this gift. She is a great fighter, she never gives up. She is a winner.

She is an example.