CMN Miracle Child: Meet Vicente Perches

No one knows how important your donations are to the Children's Miracle Network more than Brittany Perches.

She's a pediatric nurse at Cox Medical Center South where your contributions help buy life-saving equipment. And she and her family have their own story to tell about how CMN helped them personally..

"So this is Vincente Isiah Perches," explains his mom, Brittany Perches. "And he's our little V-I-P."

He certainly deserves a VIP award for all he's endured in his 9 short months on the planet. Vincente, or Vin as they call him, has faced a lot of challenges, starting even before he was born when doctors discovered abnormal growth of his skeletal system.

"The whole time we weren't sure if we plan our nursery or do we plan a funeral," Brittany said.

The diagnosis turned out to be non-fatal. A brittle bone disease which predisposes children to fractures.

"He has a new variant to that mutation which we were told in St. Louis that he's one of only two-known medical cases," Brittany explained.

Because of Vin's rare form of illness, no one knows for sure what his life will be like. He's already had five fractures and definitely needs to be handled with care.

"We can't pick him up like normal children," Brittany said. "So you can't lift him up underneath his arms. When you change diapers you can't grab him by the ankles and lift him up. You have to lift around his pelvis and support his back."

Vin will most likely be in a wheelchair for a while and will have a number of surgeries to place rods in his legs and arms to strenghten them.

"It's just taking it one day at a time and connecting him with all the resources and doctors he needs to make sure that he's healthy," said his father, Danny.

And that's where the CMN hospitals come in. They helped the Perches find resources like water and occupational therapies, plus aided in expenses for travel to specialists in Omaha and for hernia surgery.

"You know one simple donation goes a long way," Danny said.

And your donations have been a lifeline for a family that faces a daunting task.

"It's allowing us to give our son the best care possible," Brittany said. "To help him excel in life the best he can."

Little Vin still has a lot of challenges ahead in life. But he's already proving that he and his family have an unbreakable spirit.

"He actually has taught me more about positivity, strength, and endurance than anybody ever could," Brittany said.

"Even with the fractures and all the treatments that he gets, he's still smiling every single day," Danny said.

"God's given us more than what we ever could have thought we needed," Brittany adds. "I really believe that. And me being a nurse on top of it, it was for a reason. It's like we were created for this moment basically."