CLEVELAND — Earlier this year, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic successfully performed a rare surgery to save an unborn baby's life.

"I have people tell me he's definitely a miracle, that he's a gift from God, and he's meant to do something crazy in this world," Samantha Drinnon said.

Drinnon's son Ryland is now 5 months old and healthy. But when Drinnon was six months pregnant with Ryland, the odds were not in his favor.

"In April, we found out that Ryland had a cardiac teratoma, which is a tumor growing on his heart," Drinnon said.

Ryland's condition was one that doctors don't see often.

"(Cardiac teratomas are) incredibly rare," said Dr. Darrell Cass, the director of fetal surgery and the Fetal Care Center at the Cleveland Clinic. "Overall, they're only like one in 40,000 births, and then to have it in this heart location is way less common."

What's even rarer is a successful removal of that tumor — the procedure has only been done a few times worldwide and had succeeded just once before Ryland's surgery.

"The odds were absolutely against us and we were confident that we assembled the right team," Cass said.

After discussing and weighing options, doctors and Drinnon agreed that surgery was the way to go. On May 7, the four-hour fetal surgery was performed.

"The doctor did what he might do on a baby after birth. He did a cut toward the middle of the chest to open up the rib cage to expose this little baby's heart to help peel the tumor off of the heart," Cass said.

The surgery was a success for the second time in history.

"Some of the nurses that were in my room, they told me that they cried and they are still crying tears over it, just because it was the craziest thing they've ever experienced too," Drinnon said.

After the removal, Ryland was put back in his mother's womb. He grew there for another 10 weeks before an early arrival.

"At 36 weeks and three days he made his entrance into the world," Drinnon said.

Drinnon says she can't wait to tell her son about the impact he's made on the world.

"One day he's going to ask, 'What is this crazy spot on my chest?' And I'm going to tell him that, 'You went through something crazy that no baby can really say they went through,'" Drinnon said.

Ryland is healthy, but Drinnon said he'll still have regular checkups for blood work and ensure his heart is working correctly.

This story was originally published by Nadeen Abusada on Scripps station WEWS in Cleveland.

OMAHA, Neb. —

Alberta Brown is a beloved paraprofessional with Omaha Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska. But her family is unsure if she will return back to work following a series of brain aneurysms, which doctors tell them are quite rare.

"To see her vulnerable, like that is, it's an emotional roller coaster," said Alberta’s husband, Al Brown. “She’s the love of my life.”

The past year has been just that — an emotional roller coaster. It began in January, when the couple contracted COVID-19.

"She had about five-percent energy level," Brown said of his wife’s battle with the virus.

Brown's niece, Tiere White, said her aunt never made a full recovery.

"It's just been constant sickness back to back," White said.

Now, Alberta is in the hospital after suffering a series of brain aneurysms.

"The doctor said that there's been a few cases similar, but nothing like this," Brown’s husband said.

White believes her aunt's battle with COVID-19 is to blame for the aneurysms. Alberta has already undergone two surgeries, and she may need a third.

"So many unknowns," White said.

UNMC Dr. Mark Rupp did not treat Brown, but he tells sister staton KETV doctors are working diligently to find answers about long-haul COVID-19. Still, questions linger.

"This is a disease that just, you know, continues to throw curveballs at us. And we continue to learn a lot as we progress," Rupp said.

Doctors are seeing a lot of neurological problems in long-haul COVID-19 patients.

"Undoubtedly, some people are going to, you know, have a disability for the remainder of their lives, unfortunately, because of this disease," Rupp said, adding that COVID-19 can trigger a disease that had been lying dormant. "COVID-19 causes, you know, disruption of a lot of different organ systems."

Rupp said the best way to avoid long-haul COVID-19 is to get vaccinated and help minimize the spread of the disease.

Alberta Brown's family is confident she'll make a full recovery.

"She's still here, so that tells us something about her strength," White said.

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden on Tuesday announced the birth of a rare clouded leopard kitten.According to the zoo, following approximately a 90-day gestation period, the 2-year-old female clouded leopard, Rukai, gave birth to a female kitten on Aug. 6, at the zoo’s Cat Forest habitat. Officials said this is the first successful birth of an offspring for Rukai and her mate, 2-year-old JD. Because this is such a significant birth, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for clouded leopards recommended the zoo’s animal care experts hand-rear the kitten to ensure she thrives, officials said. Immediately following the kitten’s birth, the zoo’s carnivore caretakers stepped in and began caring for the little leopard. She was moved to a climate-controlled incubator to help regulate her body temperature and caretakers started round-the-clock bottle feedings of a specialty felid formula and continuous monitoring. Caretakers report the kitten is healthy and doing everything a newborn should be doing — eating, sleeping and growing. Additionally, her eyes are now fully open, according to the zoo. Clouded leopards are born with their eyes closed and begin to open them at two weeks of age. “The kitten appears very strong and healthy, and we are thrilled by the progress she’s making,” said Tyler Boyd, OKC Zoo’s curator of carnivores. “For myself and entire team, the opportunity to care for this offspring, who is incredibly valuable to the conservation of this critically vulnerable species, is a career highlight.”

A Maine lobsterman caught a rare blue lobster in one of his traps on Wednesday.Karen Stover, a viewer of Maine sister station WMTW, shared the photo of the lobster that her husband, George Stover, caught in Casco Bay in Portland, Maine.The odds of catching a blue lobster are about one in two million.Stover said the lobster was female, so her husband notched it and put it back in the water.