Woman born without brain turns 20, family calls her ‘miracle’

 

Woman Born With Most of Her Brain Missing Turns 20, Family Calls Her a “Miracle”

When Alex Simpson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, her parents had no idea how extraordinary her life would become.

At first, Alex appeared to be a healthy newborn. But when she was about two months old, doctors discovered that she had hydranencephaly, an extremely rare neurological condition in which most of the brain's cerebral hemispheres are absent and replaced by cerebrospinal fluid. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(NDTV)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":909,"end_idx":928,"safe_urls":["https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(NDTV)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Medical Miracle: US Woman Born Without Brain Turns 20, Doctors Said She Wouldn't Live Past 4","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"NDTV","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":2}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

Her diagnosis brought devastating news. Doctors told Alex's parents, Shawn and Lorena Simpson, that their daughter was unlikely to live beyond the age of four.

But Alex continued to surprise them.

On November 4, 2025, she celebrated her 20th birthday—a milestone her family once feared they would never see. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(NDTV)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":1244,"end_idx":1263,"safe_urls":["https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(NDTV)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Medical Miracle: US Woman Born Without Brain Turns 20, Doctors Said She Wouldn't Live Past 4","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"NDTV","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":2}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

A Rare and Severe Condition

Hydranencephaly is a rare developmental disorder affecting the brain before birth. The cerebral hemispheres, which make up much of the brain, are severely underdeveloped or absent and are replaced by fluid.

The condition is extremely serious, and many affected infants do not survive infancy. However, survival can vary, and rare individuals live much longer than expected. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(NDTV)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":1672,"end_idx":1691,"safe_urls":["https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(NDTV)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Medical Miracle: US Woman Born Without Brain Turns 20, Doctors Said She Wouldn't Live Past 4","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"NDTV","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":2}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

Alex's father has described her condition as involving only a very small amount of remaining brain tissue, including part of the cerebellum.

Because of her condition, Alex has profound disabilities and cannot see or hear in the typical way. Nevertheless, her family believes she responds to the presence and emotions of people around her. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(Newsner English)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":2033,"end_idx":2065,"safe_urls":["https://en.newsner.com/health/woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-family-calls-her-miracle/","https://en.newsner.com/health/woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-family-calls-her-miracle/?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(Newsner English)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Woman born without brain turns 20, family calls her 'miracle'","url":"https://en.newsner.com/health/woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-family-calls-her-miracle/?utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"Newsner English","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[{"title":"Medical Miracle: US Woman Born Without Brain Turns 20, Doctors Said She Wouldn't Live Past 4","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com","pub_date":null,"snippet":"","attribution":"NDTV"}],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":1},{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":2}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

“Love” Helped Carry the Family Through

When asked how Alex managed to reach her 20th birthday despite the grim prognosis her parents received years ago, her family pointed to something much less clinical: love and faith.

Her father, Shawn, has spoken about how frightened the family was when Alex was diagnosed. Over the years, however, each birthday became another reminder that her life had continued far beyond the expectations they were originally given. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(NDTV)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":2535,"end_idx":2554,"safe_urls":["https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(NDTV)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Medical Miracle: US Woman Born Without Brain Turns 20, Doctors Said She Wouldn't Live Past 4","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"NDTV","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":2}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

For Alex's mother, those early years were filled with uncertainty. She has previously described sleeping near her daughter and repeatedly checking that she was breathing, particularly during the period when the family did not know whether Alex would survive from one night to the next. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(Newsner English)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":2842,"end_idx":2861,"safe_urls":["https://en.newsner.com/health/woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-family-calls-her-miracle/","https://en.newsner.com/health/woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-family-calls-her-miracle/?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(Newsner English)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Woman born without brain turns 20, family calls her 'miracle'","url":"https://en.newsner.com/health/woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-family-calls-her-miracle/?utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"Newsner English","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":1}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

Her Family Sees More Than a Diagnosis

Alex's younger brother, SJ, has grown up alongside her.

He has said that he believes Alex can sense when people around her are experiencing strong emotions, describing moments when she appears to respond to stress or discomfort in the family. These observations are part of the family's personal experience with Alex rather than established evidence about her neurological abilities. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(NDTV)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":3290,"end_idx":3309,"safe_urls":["https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories","https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(NDTV)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","fallback_items":null,"error":null,"style":null,"items":[{"title":"Medical Miracle: US Woman Born Without Brain Turns 20, Doctors Said She Wouldn't Live Past 4","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/medical-miracle-us-woman-born-without-brain-turns-20-doctors-said-she-wouldnt-live-past-4-9608762?pfrom=home-ndtv_lateststories&utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"NDTV","pub_date":1762732800,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":2}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}],"status":"done"},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

Her parents have also spoken out against language that reduces people with severe disabilities to their medical conditions.

For them, Alex is not defined by a diagnosis or by what doctors once predicted. She is their daughter, sister and beloved member of the family.

A 20th Birthday That Once Seemed Impossible

Alex's 20th birthday became a significant family milestone because of the uncertainty surrounding her earliest years.

Her story demonstrates why individual medical outcomes cannot always be predicted with certainty from statistics alone. Doctors can provide prognoses based on available medical knowledge, but individual patients can sometimes live considerably longer than expected.

At the same time, Alex's experience should not be interpreted as evidence that hydranencephaly is generally harmless or that other patients with the condition will have the same outcome. It remains a severe neurological disorder requiring extensive care and support.

A Story About Family and Perseverance

Calling Alex a “miracle” is how her family describes their experience. Her survival has given them 20 years of memories they once feared they would never have.

Her story also highlights a broader point about disability: a person's value cannot be reduced to a medical diagnosis, physical abilities or a doctor's prediction about life expectancy.

For the Simpson family, every birthday has represented another opportunity to celebrate Alex's life.

And reaching 20 is a milestone they once could scarcely imagine.

What began with a frightening diagnosis has become a story of decades of family devotion, perseverance and unexpected moments of joy.

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