A child who was not expected to live past his second birthday celebrated his seventh birthday on Bermuda Day.

Mihdi Brock (pictured) suffers from progressive kyphoscoliosis, a complication that developed as a result of a major birth defect. In Western medicine the only treatments are operations every six months for the rest of his growing years.

However Mihdi?s father Marvin Brock, now a single parent, decided to take a different approach, and researched his son?s disease and began looking at alternative treatments.

?He has reached this milestone thanks in large to the generosity of Bermudians, who have contributed to The Mihdi Joon Fund over the years,? said Mr. Brock.

?Mihdi?s treatments alone cost $2,000 per month; herbs are $800 per month and a new torso brace every few months is $3,000 each time.?

The difficulty in covering these costs by the family are exacerbated by the fact that Mihdi?s father, Marvin, is involved in his treatment and care for most of his waking hours.

He makes sure Mihdi is at treatments, prepares his herbs three times a day and is responsible for carrying out the daily supplemental therapies that Dr. Baolin Wu, a Chinese medical practitioner, has prescribed.

To mark the occasion, thanks to one of Mihdi?s hardworking Canadian friends, his website has been completely updated and the full story of The Mission for Mihdi can be found at www.thelotus.com.

Mr. Brock said during this year they have seen Mihdi continue to grow and respond, both physically and mentally, to treatments that he has five times a week.

?He has herbal and physical therapies prescribed by Dr. Wu, three times per day,? said his father.

?His spinal curvature has not worsened and he is generally maintaining a good level of health, although the latter is monitored closely as even a mild sniffle can become a life-threatening illness virtually overnight for him.?

Mihdi has an individual education plan designed to help him overcome the academic challenges that are a result of his condition.

Mr. Brock said: ?He continues to make strides and meets the goals that have been set for him.

?His speech, in particular, has improved tremendously allowing him to express himself more easily. He now joins in wholeheartedly with the other children on the playground, as he is steadier on his feet, and not as apt to fall and injure himself as he used to be.?

Mr. Brock said financial help will be needed for many years as he will require full-time treatment for at least another ten to 15 years.

He said: ?Mihdi is meeting his challenges with exceptional spirit, desire and continuous effort shows the worthiness of this cause.

?He has often expressed that he wants to become a doctor like Dr. Wu.

?We are having a hard time. We are blessed to be here, but at the same time there is constant worry.

?We don?t worry about him dying any more and we are looking at him living until he is 40 and if he learns the medicine in order to treat himself, he should live until he is 80 or 90.

?At the end of the day he is doing really well.?

Once again, the fund is appealing for financial assistance to meet his needs.

Mr. Brock said they are in the process of doing a documentary on caring for Mihdi and his disease in a bid to help raise funds for his treatments.

?Money is needed to complete the documentary, the videographer just finished last week,? he said.

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