Nick’s Story, written by his mom:

“Nicholas was born on May 20, 1996, with Oromandibular Limb hypnogenesis syndrome, or Hanhart syndrome. Infants having this condition can suffer from a spectrum of disorders that include lack of limbs, heart and kidney defects, and gastrointestinal disorders. This condition occurs once in 500,000 births. Somewhere between the 56th, something goes awry. Experts say the cause is unknown. Only 14 children have been born with this syndrome in the country. Most die because such babies often and on the 59th day of a baby’s development have deformed hearts, lungs, and digestive systems.
Nicholas was born without legs and one arm is a stump below the shoulder. The other arm is normal, but has a hand with only one finger. In all other ways, he is healthy and normal.

Nicholas is our blessing. He is 16 years old and has inspired everyone he comes into contact with. He is surrounded by his family, who love him very much. He has 2 sisters, Marisa 28, and Meghan 22. A brother Mike 25, a brother-in-law Joe and a sister-in-law Jamie. He is also an uncle to Sophia 6, Joey 3 1⁄2, Trevor 6, and Taven 3 years.”

Nick’s Academic Career
Nicholas is a High Honors student at Central Regional High School, where he will be a junior in September. Nick was a member of the High School Bowling team and looks forward to wrestling next year. Nick is a well-rounded young man who refuses to set any limits to what he can do. Keeping up with his many friends, Nick plays baseball, football, skateboarding, and Frisbee. Nick loves the outdoors where he can swim, scuba dive, and ride his bike; he’s also an accomplished hunter and loves to fish. Nick is a typical teenager who plays X Box – he was ranked 3rd in the world for Gears of War, you can view his gamer tag online as Chin FTW x 732. You can also view him on YouTube by searching nicksanto534, where he has posted many of his videos, some of which are titled Nicks point of view. Nick has also become somewhat of a star On VINE with over 8,000,000 followers, well, and you know about the story with the Walking Dead.”

Supporting Our Kid as Parents
As Nick’s parents, we have been approached by many people saying what a great job we have done raising him, but we’ve done nothing more than treat him the same as our other children, support him in his interests, praise him for his accomplishments, teach him to be respectful and to know there are consequences for unacceptable behavior. His siblings treat him no different and show him no special treatment.”

UPDATE
Nick Santonastasso is not only a medical miracle, he has grown to be a successful inspirational keynote speaker, internationally known bodybuilder, and fitness model and author.

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