COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — For most kids, playing and running are second nature, but local two-year-old Cooper Burton is overcoming incredible odds just to walk.
- Cooper Burton has arthrogryposis — a genetic disease that affects joint movement, especially in the hands and feet.
- Over the course of 10 straight weeks, Cooper underwent splinting, casting, and surgery at Scottish Rite, a pediatric hospital in Dallas.
- Cooper is now walking and running like a normal kid, a reality that seemed impossible at one point.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
15ABC asked Cooper Burton for a high five.
This is Cooper Burton.
Like many others, he's a boy full of joy and excitement.
But Cooper's life hasn't always been easy.
He was born with Arthrogryposis.
"It's a genetic disease that affects our hands and feet," Cooper's father, B.J. Burton, said.
"It was passed down from like my great grandparents to my grandparents to my mom, to me, and then now to Cooper and several other members of my family," he added.
That reality left Cooper at risk of never walking or running in his life.
"It's like terrifying and heartbreaking to hear all these things about your baby," Cooper's mother, Ashley Burton, said.
"It was discouraging at first just because I felt guilty as a dad," B.J. said.
But help from a Texas pediatric hospital changed that.
"We went to our pediatrician in town and got second opinions and went to Scottish Rite, and getting to Scottish Rite, it was the first time I felt like everything was going to be okay when we got there," Ashley said.
The Burton's drove to Scottish Rite in Dallas for 10 straight weeks, getting treatment that included two surgeries.
Cooper's father told 15 ABC those efforts helped free up some of that guilt.
"I was really hurting just knowing I felt responsible for the whole thing, but when we got there, they just gave us some comfort and ease."
Now, the only issue the Burton's face is trying to keep Cooper still.
15 ABC asked the Burton's how it feels to see Cooper enjoying life as a normal kid.
"Seeing him run around happy and never think anything was ever wrong that's what really makes it's heartwarming knowing that he's going to be okay," Cooper's father said.
