WEST MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, YORK COUNTY, Pa. -- A young girl from York County lives with a rare genetic disease. She's now a pageant queen.
Ruby Hoffman is a two-year-old who has been fighting H-ABC, a type of Leukodystrophy, for almost a year now.
Despite the diagnosis, Ruby now holds the crown for Tiny Toddler Miss Pennsylvania.
"He's gonna get your fingers!" said Mindy Hoffman, Ruby's mother.
Her smile can light up a room, and it did just that at the East Coast USA Beauty Pageant where she won every title in the two-year-old age group, surprising the entire Hoffman family.
"They called her number on stage, and we got up there, and they said, 'Ruby, we just wanted you to know that you won prettiest eyes, prettiest smile, prettiest hair, best dressed,'" said Mindy.
Shocking to the Hoffman family because Ruby battles a rare form of Leukodystrophy, a genetic disease attacking the brain that worsens over time.
"It is a progressive neuro-degenerative disease. So basically in Ruby's brain, there are two areas that which eventually shrink and cause her to lose all mobility," explained Mindy.
She says the disease is so rare, less than 100 people in the world are diagnosed with it.
"It's really awful, 'cause the things that she's learning to do and the progression she's making - that will be taken from her," said Mindy.
What can't be taken from Ruby? The pageant titles she won, including the biggest surprise of all: being crowned Tiny Toddler Miss Pennsylvania.
Ruby will take the stage once again in New Jersey at the East Coast Pageant Nationals where she is completely sponsored. Ruby's mom hopes to spread more awareness about H-ABC and her rare Ruby.