An experimental drug saves a Vero Beach toddler who had a tumor the size of an orange

Her cries were muffled and because of the tumor in Ryleigh Hall's mouth as an infant, she could barely breathe.

Her grandmother, Tami Hall says "In the beginning I didn't think there was any hope. They just kept telling us it was incurable....She would never eat, she would probably never talk and they even told us they might take out her tongue."

But those doctors were wrong.

Now, just a couple of years later, Ryleigh is a curious, happy and healthy 2 and a half year old with almost no sign of her struggle.

"It's a miracle. It's definitely a miracle," Tami says.

A miracle she says happened at Boston Children's hospital.

The family has traveled here every six weeks so doctors could inject an experimental drug into the tumor.

They are trips they wouldn't have been able to afford without what Hall calls yet another miracle: generous donations totally $12,000 from WPTV NewsChannel 5 viewers who saw Ryleigh's story.

Hall explains, "Everything came from your viewers. That's how we saved her life."

Now, the treatments are over and the girl doctors said would never speak has plenty to say.

Feeding her baby doll she is blissfully unaware of how remarkable her seemingly simple childhood really is.

Ryleigh still has to have precautionary tests.

Her grandmother hopes the experimental treatment that cured her will help save other children in the future.