She’s the cutest little girl. She loves playing outside, blowing kisses, and smiling, and she’s mostly like other happy-go-lucky toddlers her age. The only exception is that Tessa Evans suffers from an extremely rare condition where she has no nose.

The 17-month-old Irish baby has what is known as congenital arhinia. Soon, she will be undergoing treatment at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in England. The procedure will design a nose-shaped mold where a nose should be. However, unlike a regular nose, it will have to be changed as she grows and gets older.

“At first I just couldn't understand it, I didn't even know it was possible. How did my little girl not have a nose? Was she going to live? Would anyone be able to help her? But ever since we got her home she's grown every day, smiled more and the more she shines the more her differences fade into the background,” Tessa’s mom, Gráinne Evans, told the Daily Mail.

Congenital arhinia is the absence of a nose. The National Institutes of Health says that there are only 30 reported cases in the United States. It’s defined as an absence of an external nose, nasal cavities, and olfactory apparatus. It’s an issue because it not only obstructs the airway, but it’s difficult for craniofacial and plastic surgeons to fix.

Evans says she researched the condition on the Internet, and through looking at journals found that babies with the disease also had poor mental and physical development. She also says that seeing her baby for the first time after the midwife delivered her shocked her. “The midwife cut the cord before I could even say anything and whisked her away from me," Evans said. "I felt so lonely and helpless, I was supposed to protect my baby and be able to help but I couldn't. There were tubes coming out of her tiny little body everywhere. She spent her first five weeks in a neonatal intensive care unit, which were undoubtedly the worst weeks of my life.”

Tessa has had a number of surgeries since birth, including: cataract removal, a tracheostomy, which would allow her breathe while eating and sleeping, and her next surgery is a prosthetic nose.

“She is totally perfect to us the way she is, but we have to think about what will make life as normal as possible for her in the long-run. It's not been an easy decision," Evans said.

Evans and her husband, Nathan, have set up a Go Fund Me page in order to pay for Tessa’s extensive medical bills.