Meet Boston

Boston’s journey to Phoenix Children’s began before he was born. During a routine prenatal scan, his parents learned he had the most severe form of osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease. Doctors warned his parents, Brooklyn and Gaje, that Boston might not survive—and if he did, his life could be filled with complications. Still, his family held tightly to hope, determined to do everything possible for their son. 

Boston was born at a nearby hospital and immediately transferred to Phoenix Children’s, where a team of specialists had carefully prepared for his arrival. In a remarkable medical first, Boston’s mom had received an infusion to strengthen Boston’s bones while she was pregnant.  

When Boston arrived at Phoenix Children’s, fragile but fighting, an entire team was waiting. He spent six weeks in the NICU, a time filled with both fear and progress. His parents rarely left his side and learned how to care for a baby whose bones could break with ordinary handling. 

Boston has had more than a dozen major fractures and undergone surgeries to place rods that will support and straighten his bones as he grows. Every three months, he receives bone infusions—what his family calls his “bone juice”—to help strengthen his bones and manage pain. 

He also works hard at physical therapy every week and practices those same skills at home every day. He’s learned how to move in his own way. 

Through it all, Boston has remained exactly who he is: joyful, determined and endlessly bright. “Boston has a smile that lights up a room, a determination that’s impossible to miss and an excitement for life that draws people to him wherever he goes,” Gaje says.