'He's a fighter' San Antonio born baby with unknown skin condition celebrates his 4th birthday

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Texas baby born with no skin and given little chance of survival continues to defy the odds.

Babbling with mom and interacting with his big brother are all moments Priscilla Maldonado was told would never happen.

But on Jan. 1, Ja'bari Gray celebrated his 4th birthday.

"He's a fighter, that's for sure," Maldonado, Ja'bari's mother, said.

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Born on New Year's Day 2019, he was missing most of the skin on his body.

Mom says doctors in San Antonio told her he would not survive.

He was flown to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston for continued medical care.

"He's happy. Very funny. Even though he can't talk he's very funny."

His medical journey, though, continues.

Ja'bari doesn't look or act like most 4-year-olds and only weighs 18 pounds.

He did have a successful skin graft surgery on 95% of his body before he turned 1. But because of missing skin, his arms are fused at the elbow where the skin was growing, and the same happened with his chin, fusing to the skin on his chest, and with his toes, fingers and one leg.

"So they automatically did a natural thing and attached to where there was skin," his mother said.

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Skin also grew over his eyelids, leaving him blind. Despite two surgeries to remove that skin, it grew back.

Doctors in Houston later nixed an original diagnosis in San Antonio. "Nobody knows anything. Like they try putting two and two together, and 'nothing is adding up at all.'

But she says this little guy has overcome every single health challenge, and she says he is eager to grow and develop.

"And he wants to be able to do stuff, but he just can't. Like you can see he is trying and trying and trying, and he's like, 'hey, what's going on', and he doesn't have that balance because of his arms and legs and stuff. He doesn't have the balance for his body," she said.

In February, she says he'll have two more major surgeries to try to release the fusing of one arm, leg, and around his neck.

Maldanado hopes the surgeries will bring more mobility to her developing son and relieve the public scrutiny and internet trolling this family has received.

"I honestly just pay no more mind to it because I feel like when I do pay attention to that, it's dragging me down."

Ja'bari's mom says she's getting through it with "a lot of strength, faith, and hope."

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