As reported by ABC News —
“A 2-year-old born with a rare birth defect that resulted in the amputations of both a foot and a leg is proving to be an inspiration after a YouTube video captured him saying, “I got it,” while taking his first steps on prosthetic legs.
Kayden Kinkle, of Hackensack, New Jersey, was born with an omphalocele, a type of birth defect that causes an infant’s intestines, liver, or other organs to stick outside of the belly through the belly button. One out of every 5,386 babies born in the United States each year is born with an omphalocele, according to the CDC.
Kayden had both his right foot and left leg amputated as a result of the birth defect. The toddler was fitted for prosthetic legs and can be seen walking for the first time unassisted in a YouTube video posted by his mother, Nicole Kinkle, on July 4.
The video, which shows Kayden repeating, “I got it, I got it,” now has more than 340,000 views.
“Just to watch the numbers go so high, all the views, we were just overwhelmed,” Nicole Kinkle told WABC. “I just sat up until like 3 o’clock in the morning reading all of the comments. You know so many people were encouraged and it’s just wonderful.”
“Kayden’s accomplishment was spread even further by New York Jets star Michael Vick who posted it to his personal Facebook page last Sunday, pairing Kayden’s signature “I got it” with the Bible verse, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
“Just seeing him share it was wonderful, the encouragement that other people were getting from my son was just amazing,” Kayden’s father, Kevin Kinkle, told WABC.
The Kinkles have started a GoFundMe page to help defray the costs of Kayden’s medical care, which has sent the family into debt, they told WABC.
The family is hoping to raise $50,000 but, more importantly, they say, they hope Kayden’s message of “I got it” is an inspiration to others.
“If you could do that for one person it’s just such a big accomplishment, but for my son to be able to do that for a whole bunch of people it’s really great, really humbling,” Kevin Kinkle said.
“Whatever he wants to do or whatever goals and ambitions that he has, whatever he wants to do, I believe nothing can stop him as you can see in the video,” Kinkle said of his son.”