Inspiring 4-Year-Old Boy Is A Hero - Los Angeles Local News, Weather, and Traffic

Keeping up with Joshua Miller isn't easy, neither is keeping him down. Like the little engine that could, Josh never ever backs down from a challenge. It's hard to imagine this strong little boy was at one time so fragile. His mom Laura was told during pregnancy Josh would be different. His condition: "Werner's Mesomaliac Dysplasia With Hirshprungs.  It's quite a mouthful," Laura tells me.

Josh was born with multiple challenges inside and out. His most obvious difference: no tibias.  There was no bone connecting his knees to his feet, and he didn't pop out with 10 fingers and toes. "Our son actually had 26 digits all together because he had 7 digits on each foot and 6 digits on each hand," Laura explains.

"I've almost been through 8 surgeries. One was very difficult, Uhm heart surgery.  I almost died, but i lived through it." Josh remembers.

At Children's Hospital Los Angeles  Cardiologist Jackie Szmuszkovicz explains Josh was born with a defect that blocked blood flow, between his lungs and his heart.  Now that he's recovered from open heart surgery, she marvels at how active he is today, "To me that's the most important sign that his heart is doing well.

Laura still remembers living with the fear of all that could go wrong. Why didn't it? "He hasn't learned to feel sorry for himself. Hasn't learned to be downtrodden," she says.

On the contrary, Josh sees himself as a role model. He's already competed in 3 triathalons to raise money for the Challenged Athlete Foundation., and he often meets with new amputees to showing them  all that he's learned to do.

You can reach out to Joshua via his Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/GoTeamJJ?ref=ts&fref=ts.  For more on Children's Hospital Los Angeles go to www.chla.org.