Boy with rare disease defies odds each step of the way
TEMPE, AZ - Jen Pierce's family piled into the doctor's office for her 18-week ultrasound. They couldn't wait to find out if she was pregnant with a boy or girl.
The appointment didn't go as planned.
The doctor told Pierce that the baby boy she was carrying had a rare condition that affects joints called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. Survival in utero would be slim. The doctor recommended Pierce terminate the pregnancy.
But Pierce didn't take the advice of that doctor. It would be the first of many times she would go against the doctor's recommendation.
She wanted to give her older children a chance to meet and possibly say goodbye to their younger brother, so Pierce decided to carry her son full-term.
Doctors said if her baby made it to birth, he likely would not live more than a few hours.
But when Silas Pierce was born, he would prove doctors wrong again and again.
"We're defying every single statistic at this point," Jen Pierce said.
Silas had his first surgery just 24 hours after birth. He's now four years old, and has a total of five surgeries under his belt.
Doctors didn't think he'd ever walk on his own, but with lots of hard work and physical therapy, Silas is well on his way. A video of him taking a couple of tiny steps got thousands of views on twitter.
"He might not be doing what a typical 4-year-old would be doing, but he's defying every single doctor we've met," Silas' mom said.
Silas is like a typical 4-year-old in many ways. He's obsessed with superheroes, and has already been to two Comicons with his mom. He wants to be as fast as The Flash, and as strong as Batman.
"He's by far the bravest, most amazing superhero I could ever know," his mom said.
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