Show Four decades ago St Jude Children’s Research Hospital was created to find cures for catastrophic childhood diseases and to care for afflicted children These are the stories of two such kids their courageous families ahd BY DOTSON RADER The Happiest Kid T WASN’T A TRAGEDY WHEN Cody was bora” Beth Bigos says about her son who suffers from a severe bone disease “We knew there were problems But my husband and I made an agreement that we were going to treat him as normally as possible He was a beautiful baby and he made us happy God gave him to us" Beth 36 and her husband Bill Bigos 38 grew up in suburban New Jersey in huge closely knit families Today and Bath Bigos with thair children and Kelly 6 Cody who has “hrittla bona disease” often was in Bill a tidy “I knew that my miracle was behind the doors of St Jude” says one sick child’s mom “I could feel it” NJ community where the kids attend public schools Beth was 19 when she met Bili through friends “I loved Bill’s blue eyes and his smile” Beth recalls “And when our first son was bom two years after we met and I saw Bill holding him for the first time 1 just loved him more because he is such a good dad" Six years later Cody was bom his birth burdened with unexpected grievous complications “Around my due date I wasn't going into labor or even dilating” Beth explains “so they gave me an extensive sonogram When it was over the doctor looked at me and said ‘We have a problem The baby has osteogenesis imperfecta’ I asked what it was and he told me” Osteogenous imperfecta or “brittle bone disease" middle-clas- ' excruciating pain until an experimental treatment at St Jude changed his life Beth manages a restaurant and Bill works for United Parcel Service They have three children — Billy 14 Cody 8 and daughter Kelly 6— and own a comfortable house in Forked River (l-- r) Billy 14 Cody B s is a condition in which a child's collagen is defective and unable to make healthy bones This results in broken bones painful deformities and in severe cases early death Die doctor told Beth her baby would not survive 1 his birth “I couldn’t imagine that” she recalls “They said there was no treatment no cure nothing could be done But I didn't feel it in my heart “Well Cody was bom and he didn’t die’ Beth continues “Bill and I took him home and took care of him Our families and friends helped us I started doing research going here and there to different doctors “At 3 months Cody started breaking bones In die middle of the night he would just start screaming and I’d know something was broken It was really bad I'd sit in the rocking chair holding him through the night COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY EDDIE AOUiS FOR PARADE MQK4 90 900S PMUM MAOAZM |