Doctors said baby wouldn’t walk weeks after surgery—baby's response the next day surprised everyone

Children often display remarkable resilience in the face of a challenge. However, the parents of an 18-month-old baby were surprised after what he did just a day after a surgery. The doctor had told the parents that the baby, Ashton, might not be able to walk for four weeks after his surgery and it might take him some time to recover. Ashton had other plans, according to a TikTok video by the mom, Kaylee Maesch, who goes by @kayleemaesch on the platform. The brief clip of the incident received over 4.7 million views.

At the beginning of the video, Ashton was running around the hospital in his white hospital gown and enjoying himself before his surgery. "POV: Your 18-month-old has a surgery and his doctor warns you that he probably won't be able to walk for four weeks afterwards," the text overlay of the video read. The next clip was of the day after the surgery and the baby's foot and arm were in a cast. However, everyone was surprised that Ashton had started walking properly with his cast on. "And it’s not surprising at all coming from him," the caption revealed. The mom also added a disclaimer that said, "It’s safe for him to walk on his cast in regard to his surgery and healing."

The mom from Northwest Indiana told Newsweek that Ashton went through reconstructive surgery because he was born with Amniotic band syndrome. According to Boston Children's Hospital, Amniotic band syndrome is a rare condition in which the fibrous bands of the amniotic sac, responsible for holding the fetus, get tangled around certain parts of the body. It occurs in one in 10,000 to 15,000 pregnancies. In Ashton's case, three fingers on his right hand, four toes on his right foot and his left ankle had been affected. A doctor at Shriners Children's Hospital in Chicago suggested that the boy should go through reconstructive surgery to remove the amniotic bands from his ankle and to reconstruct his fingers.

"His surgeon told us that he may not be able to walk for the four weeks after his surgery until he gets his casts off, as finding balance on a cast can be extremely difficult," Kaylee recounted. So she was reasonably surprised when her son bounced back in no time. "He figured out less than 24 hours after his surgery how to walk and almost run on his cast. We knew he'd figure out how to walk eventually, but we were so shocked and impressed that he figured it out so quickly and with seemingly no difficulty." She added, "He's the most determined kid and has never let amniotic band syndrome stop him before and a couple of bulky casts surely weren't going to keep him down."

People in the comments section were impressed by the kid's resilience and shared their own experiences. @lelahjones wrote, "My son had double eye muscle surgery at that age and was trying to do flips off the couch the same afternoon. Like, please." @tiffany0331 commented, "Kids heal fast and don’t let surgery hold them back, lol. At 15 months, my son had a huge stomach/intestine surgery, and by like 12 hours post-operation, he was back to normal." @ashleycg123 remarked, "He’s a busy baby. He got places to go and people to see." In another video, Kaylee shared a beautiful video of Ashton greeting his dad at the door, still in his cast.

You can follow Kaylee Maesch (@kayleemaesch) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

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