DAYTON, NV - Four-year-old Giovanni Melgarejo is used to the stares and whispers.
"People have asked us if his fingers were fake or if those are real shoes because of the size of his feet," said his mother, Natasha Melgarejo, who is from Dayton.
"And it's not just children. It's also adults. So it's really difficult for us to watch him go through that. As a parent, you get upset, but you have to deal with it."
Giovanni was born with CLOVES Syndrome, which has left him with malformations in his veins, skin and limbs. CLOVES is an acronym that stands for Congenital, Lipomatous, Overgrowth, Vascular Malformations, Epidermal Nevi & Spinal/Skeletal Anomalies. His mom says it has been heartbreaking.
"Sometimes he can't get up because he's in a lot of pain. He has a lot of fluid around his lungs so sometimes it's hard for him to breathe,"said Natasha. "We couldn't find him shoes -- he didn't have shoes for the first two years of his life."
And that life hasn't stopped being difficult. Gio takes eight different medications and braves an injection every day to deal with the swelling and pain....
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