Doctors found at a 21-week scan that Racquel Ferraro’s daughter’s femur measured at least half its expected size; her OB-GYN suggested termination before there was a clear prognosis. Daisy was diagnosed at eight weeks with two rare congenital differences in her right leg.
During pregnancy, Racquel and her partner, Chris Di Bella, waited six weeks for more concrete answers. Daisy was born in July 2026 and diagnosed by specialists at eight weeks with proximal femoral focal deficiency, in which the upper thigh bone does not develop properly, and fibular hemimelia, the absence of the fibula. A skeletal survey showed her tibia was present but shorter than usual; she also has hip, knee and ankle abnormalities.
Racquel said she was grieving the childhood and future she had imagined for Daisy, not wishing her daughter were different. She said she initially feared the unknown and has come to view the condition as one part of who Daisy is.
