Sun, Nov 08 2009
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Published March 10, 2009 01:07 pm - WEBB CITY, Mo. — When Tristen Lancaster was born, doctors said he’d never walk. Try telling that to his family members, who can’t keep him still. “You can’t hold him down,” said his grandfather, Rick Lancaster, of Neck City. “They said he’d never walk, but now he runs.” Webb City youth chosen as CMN’s Missouri champion w/ CMN champion info By Melissa Dunson mdunson@joplinglobe.com WEBB CITY, Mo. — When Tristen Lancaster was born, doctors said he’d never walk. Try telling that to his family members, who can’t keep him still. “You can’t hold him down,” said his grandfather, Rick Lancaster, of Neck City. “They said he’d never walk, but now he runs.” Tristen is 4, and after several surgeries and therapy for multiple birth defects, he is being honored for his bravery. Tristen will represent Missouri as the state’s Children’s Miracle Network Child Champion this year. Every year, each state honors a child who received care at a CMN hospital. The champions get a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and a visit to the White House to talk about their illnesses and how CMN has helped them. This is the second year in a row that Missouri’s champion child has been from the Joplin area. Last year, the honor went to Abe Andrews, now 8, of Riverton, Kan. Freeman Health System and CMN announced Tristen as Missouri’s champion Tuesday at the Webb City Wal-Mart. Tristen was born prematurely with a variety of defects including severe laryngeal tracheomalacia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, dysphagia, congenital scoliosis and club feet. His conditions mean he has difficulty breathing, speaking and walking. In his four years, Tristen has had surgeries for putting in a gastric feeding tube, and for repairing an umbilical hernia, a deformed thumb and some connective tissue problems. “He has trouble making his muscles do what he wants them to do,” said Kathy Watson, local CMN coordinator. Melissa Brumfield, Tristen’s physical therapist, said she watched him go from having trouble sitting up to learning to play baseball and ride a bike. He went from a walker to leg braces, and he now walks unaided. “He has truly been an amazing little guy,” Brumfield said. “He has exceeded all my goals, all of his goals and sometimes even my expectations.” Tristen’s great-grandfather, William Pierce, of Neck City, said the boy’s progress is nothing less than astonishing. 
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