PUEBLO, Colo. -- A boy who survived three years without a brain has died.
Nickolas Coke, of Colorado, was born with only a brain stem, a condition known as anencephaly (an-en-SEF-uh-lee).
The
National Center for Biotechnology Information says most babies born
with anencephaly live only a few days. The center says it occurs in one
of 10,000 births.
Nickolas' grandmother, Sherri Kohut, tells
KOAA-TV that she believes Nickolas came down with a virus. She says he
had difficulty breathing Wednesday and eventually stopped. She says
three attempts to revive him failed.
Relatives say Nickolas survived without special medical equipment but required several kinds of medicine.
Kohut
says Nickolas taught his family how to love and about the strength of
family. She recalls him laughing as he played among pumpkins recently.
Associated Press