Baby With Inoperable Brain Tumor Making Remarkable Strides After Kiss From Pope

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's been two months since KDKA introduced you to 1-year-old Gianna Masciantonio.

The little girl has a rare and inoperable brain tumor and was given a grim diagnosis at birth. Doctors said she likely wouldn't live to see her first birthday.

Gianna is now 15-months-old and her family believes a kiss she received from Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia in September led to nothing short of a miracle.

Gianna lives with her parents and brother in Philadelphia. But her father grew up in Pittsburgh and her grandparents still reside here.

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"She's getting better and strong. She's blowing kisses. She's starting to point at things," said mom Kristen.

"Last year was about living in honor of her; now, we're going to get to live with her," said dad Joey.

Gianna's latest MRI, taken only three months after her last one, shows a remarkable shrinkage in the size of the brain tumor.

"You can hardly see the tumor. It's a blur," said Kristen.

"I think all this is from God," remarked Joey. "I believe the Pope is a messenger from God."

Gianna's grandparents, Joe and Andrea, agree. They travel back and forth from Aliquippa to help with Gianna's medical care.

"You just know God's hand is in it. Whether it's a miracle or not, I don't know, but just thank God we do have that divine intervention to bring us through all this. Without it, I don't know where we'd be," said Gianna's grandfather.

Gianna is named for Saint Gianna, a modern-day saint who died in 1962.

Little Gianna is also undergoing chemotherapy, but the family's strong faith leads them to believe her encounter with the Pope is playing a big part in her recovery.

There are other improvements as well.

Gianna's vocal chords, once paralyzed, are now functioning and she has regained some of her hearing.

"It just gives us a lot of hope," said her grandfather. "It really does."

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