Stepping into the Dunson household, it would be hard to gather that the four year old  Morenci resident delightedly slapping his knees as he watches a children’s DVD has endured 11 major surgeries. Or that he’s spent much of his life in the intensive care unit.

Philip Dunson, Jr.—or Mikey as he is called affectionately—is animated and happy. He’s outgoing and friendly to guests. He knows his ABCs and 1-2-3s. He can slap a mean high five. He also suffers from a number of congenital conditions that prevent him from living a normal life.

When Morenci resident Teresa Dunson was 15 weeks pregnant with Mikey, he was diagnosed with Shone’s Syndrome, which is characterized by multiple anomalies on the left side of the heart. Chief among those is drastically reduced size.