VIDEO: 2-Year-Old NJ Boy Takes First Steps On New Prosthetics
ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A 2-year-old New Jersey boy is giving us all a lesson in perseverance.
A video posted to YouTube by little Kayden Kinckle's mother shows the Englewood toddler taking his first steps on his new prosthetics.
"I got it!" the little boy exclaims with each step he takes.
Kayden was born with a birth defect called omphalocele -- a type of abdominal wall defect in which the intestines, liver, bladder and sometimes other organs remain outside the body, his mother, Nikki, wrote on YouTube. His umbilical cord was also wrapped around his feet and pinned under his mom's pelvic bone, resulting in some deformities.
Despite warnings that Kayden would not survive or that he would have many problems and wouldn't be able to walk if he did, Nikki went through with the pregnancy.
"Was he supposed to be here today. No. Not at all," Nikki told CBS 2's Scott Rapoport.
Kayden, who had his right foot and left leg amputated in January, defied the odds and took his first steps at his physical therapist's office last week, Rapoport reported.
"The video is more than first steps," his mother wrote. "We celebrate his life as well and every step he takes will be to glorify God."
Kayden is now working on his balance and building his upper body strength so he can pull himself up if he falls.
"He's definitely defeating the odds," said father Kevin Kinckle.
The family has created a Facebook page where they post updates on Kayden's progress and are raising money on GoFundMe to pay for extra physical therapy visits, braces, prosthetics and settle outstanding medical bills.
They are also holding a benefit on Aug. 23 at the Logan Family Learning Center in Hackensack. They said they hope to send their little boy to a camp for children with prosthetics when he is old enough.
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