Hope, courage, perseverance and diligence four words that can be used to describe the life of Mihdi Joon Brock.

At the age of two, the Bermudian child was diagnosed with progressive kyphoscoliosis an extreme curvature of the spine, a complication that developed when he was born with a blocked artery to the heart and fluid on the brain.

Although he underwent major heart surgery at just five-months-old, his heart was permanently enlarged, and his skeletal structure formed and curved to accommodate it.

In Western medicine the only treatments are operations every six months for the rest of his growing years.

Christmas marked one year since Mihdi underwent a week of tests, examinations and consultations with specialists at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota.

Based on their conclusions, it was clear that Oriental medicine held the only answer in his fight for survival, as the traditional surgery would have been to dangerous.

So he and his father, Marvin Brock who reside in Santa Monica, have continued to maintain the very strict daily schedule of treatments from Chinese medicine specialist and author Dr. Baolin Wu.

In the intervening ten years since hearing about Dr. Wu, Midhi has been receiving treatments, which include physical therapies such as the stretching of his spine, herbal therapy taken in the form of teas, and rigorous daily sessions on the traction table, which was donated by an anonymous Bermudian donor last year.

Traditional medicine would require Mihdi to undergo a series of operations to take place every six months to stop his spine from curving, but these operations could also leave him paralysed.

Mr. Brock, who left Bermuda in 1995, said: "To date, all the Western medical specialists have agreed that Mihdi's condition is a very complicated one with many different aspects, as no one described syndrome in Western medicine includes all that is going on in his body.

"This means that their only suggestions involved surgical procedures to attempt to straighten his spine, which could easily prove to be life threatening.

"As for the other issues (fluid on the brain and significant developmental delays) with which he is dealing, they are unable to provide treatment protocols."

Mr. Brock added: "Dr. Wu, though, has been able to provide the needed treatments with acupuncture, Qigong (an internal Chinese meditative practice which often uses slow graceful movements and controlled breathing techniques to promote the circulation of qi within the human body, and enhance a practitioner's overall health), and prescribed herbal teas."

Now aged 12, he is still just over four feet tall, and about 52 lbs; his body isn't thriving; yet it cannot be determined why.

"The puzzle that his health issues are has not been solved yet, but he is holding his own and slowly, but surely moving forward as he grows up," said his father.

"Over the next six to eight years, that growing up process will continue to include the daily task of working to grow healthy."

While still struggling with his health, Mihdi continues to go through the school system.

Last September, Mihdi and his father returned to the Mayo Clinic once again, for cognitive testing and consultation.

"While Mihdi has been progressing, and had been moved through the regular school system (in Santa Monica) to be with his classmates up to that point in Grade 7, middle school, he was not working up to grade level and had begun withdrawing from the traditional approach," explained Mr. Brock.

"He has moments of sheer brilliance in connection with abstract concepts and philosophy, and he can put the components of a computer system together before you know it, but his academic skills have not been developing.

"As the cognitive specialists at the Mayo Clinic suggested that Mihdi is unable to learn via the traditional approach applied in the standard school system classroom, it was decided to move him into a Montessori school.

"Mihdi has been enthusiastic about the change, and positive results are already evident. His teachers are recognising his potential, and they are very supportive of his aspiration to become a doctor of both Oriental and Western medicine."

The Mihdi Joon Fund plans to continue supporting his efforts to have a future with as much quality as possible. Private school now adds $1,400 to the monthly funding requirement of $10,000 and fundraising efforts are ongoing.

Mihdi is doing amazingly well for a boy who no one expected to walk or talk; now he runs and jumps, and talks a mile a minute, but he does tire very easily, and is susceptible to colds and the flu, which can turn quickly into pneumonia due to his weak immune system.

In October of 2007, he suffered a stroke and after 10 days in the hospital, spent several months recovering before he could return to school.

The puzzle that his health issues are has not been solved yet, but he is holding his own and slowly, but surely moving forward as he grows up. Over the next six to eight years, that growing up process will continue to include the daily task of working to grow healthy and applying hope, courage, perseverance, and diligence to make it happen.