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SHE cannot walk or talk. She cannot keep her head up, roll over or sit up by herself. She is fed with a tube.
Little Ashley is now 9, but she will forever remain 6 years old because of radical surgery.
Ashley suffers from static encephalopathy, a severe brain impairment.
Her parents worried that she would grow up and become too big to be cared for. So, they decided to keep her small.
They got her doctors at the Seattle Children's Hospital to develop a treatment to stunt her growth three years ago. As a result of that treatment, Ashley will get older, but she will never grow up.
Her case has stirred ethical debate in the medical community after her story was mentioned in the October issue of a paediatric journal.
But it wasn't until New Year's Day that Ashley's parents told their side of the story. In a paper published in the journal, the doctors outlined the course of their radical treatment to keep her small.
The Times reported that in 2004, when Ashley displayed early signs of puberty, her parents instructed doctors to remove her uterus, appendix and still-forming breasts, then give her high doses of oestrogen to stunt her growth.
The treatment, known as 'growth attenuation', is expected to keep Ashley's height at about 1.3m and her weight at about 34kg for the rest of her life.
Doctors expect her to have a normal lifespan. Had she not been given the treatment, doctors estimate, she would have grown into a woman of average height and weight - about 165cm and 56kg.
ROBBED OF DIGNITY?
Doctors and caregivers criticised the parents, saying that such treatment is a violation of a person's dignity.
But the parents claim that their move was a humane one, allowing Ashley to get more care and attention.
They call her 'Pillow Angel' because she stays right where they place her, usually on a pillow.
Willing to be identified only as 'college-educated professionals' living in the US state of Washington, the parents defended their actions in a lengthy explanation posted on the Internet along with photos of Ashley.
In the posting they say, 'we will continue to delight in holding her in our arms and Ashley will be moved and taken on trips more frequently and will have more exposure to activities and social gatherings (for example, in the family room, backyard, swing, walks, bathtub, etc) instead of lying down in her bed staring at TV (or the ceiling) all day long.'
The parents claim that by remaining a child, Ashley will have a better chance of avoiding everything from bed sores to pneumonia. The removal of her uterus means that she will never have a menstrual cycle.
And because she was expected to have a large chest size, her parents say that removing her breast buds, including the milk glands (while keeping the nipples intact), will save her further discomfort while avoiding fibrocystic growth and breast cancer. They also feared that large breasts could put Ashley at risk of sexual assault.
The case was approved by the hospital's ethics committee in 2004.
The Guardian reported that Dr Jeffrey Brosco of Miami University has co-written an editorial in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine criticising the procedure adopted by the Seattle doctors as an experiment without proper research controls.
'This is a technological solution to a social problem. I work with severely disabled children and know how hard it is on families, but what we need most is better federal funding so that they can be cared for properly.'
The parents have declined all media requests for an interview, reported the Los Angeles Times.
'I cannot explain something this complicated in an interview,' wrote Ashley's father in the Internet posting, adding that 'people think it must have been a horribly difficult decision' to have the treatment performed. 'It really wasn't.'
The ethical row is likely to deepen as the Seattle doctors, led by Dr Daniel Gunther, say they are considering other children for similar treatment.
You know, people, what we are facing now in our lives are nothing compared to all the survival issues people all over the world are going through. Even as I am typing this entry, people are dying every minute. Sometimes when you sit back and think, don't you ever realise that the extend we people in developed countries do to survive (such as working half of your life like a mad pit bulldog with 2 hours of rest daily) or quarrel over (such as over the distribution of your deceased mother's fortune - hello, do you have heart?) are the most imbecile acts in our existence? Take a day off in the midst of your busy schedule and really experience what life is all about - have a stroll with your loved one along the sandy beach and fall asleep watching the sunset, rent a classic movie (Sound of the Music!) and watch it with your family together with popcorns and cordial juices, have a girls/boys day out with your closests and just let it all loose, or even visit the terminally ill because even such a small action brings hope and joy in the life of others.
Remember, life is not all about focusing on just the same old life you experience everyday. Open the windows and you'll see that life is pretty much not just about yourself, but about the strangers whom you meet, and the people you love around you.