Girl who couldn't stop eating gets her 'childhood' back after surgery

A Texas girl who couldn't stop eating because of a rare medical condition has lost more than 50 pounds after having surgery at age 12.

Alexis Shapiro gained 150 lbs. when doctors removed a benign brain tumor. The surgery damaged parts of her brain that control hunger, leaving her with a rare condition called hypothalamic obesity, according to ABC News.

At age 12, Alexis became the youngest person in the United States to get a sleeve gastrectomy. Now, seven months later, Alexis' mom says the girl has her "childhood" back and continues to recover, through diet and exercise.

"She has had zero hospital stays related to hypothalamic obesity, which is a record since her brain surgery three years ago," Alexis' mom Jenny Shapiro wrote.

Shapiro says her daughter continues to struggle with having enough energy, but she is able to walk a half-mile to school every weekday.

"She is still scared to try new things that she couldn't do while she was heavier, but we are trying," Shapiro wrote on Facebook.