Girl, 7, faces life-changing treatment abroad after 22 surgeries for rare condition that left her neck purple

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Kinley Gluch, aged seven, has had dozens of surgeries and procedures for a rare vascular condition which affects her face, lip, neck, mouth and airway

Moments after baby Kinley Gluch was born, her parents realised something was wrong when her neck suddenly swelled and turned purple as she cried for the first time.

Her mother Cristen Gluch had barely had the chance to hold her when doctors rushed the newborn away. Cristen said: "I was in shock. One minute I had this beautiful healthy baby, and the next something was terribly wrong."

Thankfully, Kinley's vital signs were normal but doctors had no immediate answers. Her mum added: "We were terrified when they sent us home. We had no idea how this would impact her life, or if this could potentially be fatal. There were so many fears and unknowns."

Now seven, Kinley has undergone more than 22 surgeries and procedures for a rare vascular condition that affects her face, lip, neck, mouth and airway. Her family is preparing to travel to Italy in the hope of receiving a groundbreaking treatment they believe could finally change her future.

When Kinley was a month old, she was referred to an interventional radiologist, who diagnosed her with extensive venous malformations, abnormally formed blood vessels that lack normal muscular walls and allow blood to pool inside them.

The diagnosis was overwhelming but the family hoped treatment could help. Instead, doctors soon discovered just how dangerous and unusual Kinley's condition really was.

Aged just one, Kinley underwent her first planned sclerotherapy procedure to treat her veins. During the operation doctors discovered the malformation was far larger and more complex than anyone had realised, with blood flowing rapidly towards her jugular vein.

Had they proceeded with the treatment, the medication could have travelled directly towards her heart and lungs. Cristen, from Utah, said: "I will never forget the interventional radiologist coming out of surgery looking so discouraged. He was astonished by how large and high-flowing her malformation was."

Even more frightening was watching one of the country's leading specialists struggle…

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