Denton Family Celebrates a Milestone With Their Child Who Has a Rare Genetic Syndrome

Lucy and Mingo Barron sing praise in their Denton church because their faith has carried them through life's interesting journey. 

They have four beautiful children. But their first-born son, Alexander, was diagnosed with a rare disease at 3 years old.

"They did some testing and they found out he has a chromosome microdeletion 2q24,” Lucy Barron said. “Which basically means a piece of one of his chromosomes is missing."

"We were told there's a possibility he would never walk,” Mingo Barron said. “That he would never be able to feed himself. That he would never be potty trained."

Alexander is now 9 years old. He's nonverbal but is active, walks and so much more.

The family admits it hasn't been easy.

"It's bittersweet,” Lucy said. “Sometimes it's really difficult but on the other hand you get to see a miracle every day."

One miracle was reached this week. Alexander's classmates cheered him as he headed off to run in a Special Olympics competition.

"It just did something in our hearts; whenever all these kids were cheering for him and it was just him walking down the hall,” Lucy said. “You could just tell he was so loved and supported."

That energy carried over to the track as he did something that brought a lot of emotions to his parents: He ran in a race.

"I was fighting back tears the whole time,” Lucy said. “I was cheering and screaming. But also, at the same time I was just, it was like I was witnessing a miracle, so it was really cool."

His father felt the same rush of emotions.

"For us, as parents to see him run when you were told years before he may never walk, it was just an amazing feeling and moment for us," Mingo said.

The Barron family says crossing the finish line for Alexander is not the end. It's just the next step for what he will show the world.

"We want Xander, and I know Xander wants it, we want there to be a sense of hope when people see him of that there is a tomorrow."