Mihdi Brock, the Bermudian boy who has defied the odds by surviving almost 16 years with a rare, life threatening spinal condition is out of the woods but his mother faces a difficult decision about whether he should now undergo spinal fusion surgery.Claire Quinlan, his mother, was awarded sole legal and physical custody of the teenager by a Los Angeles, California judge on February 13.Ms Quinlan is consulting with a host of experts about the surgery, which could guarantee a decent quality of life for the teen but which comes with considerable risk because of Mihdi’s unique physical condition.“He’s anxious. But he’s also anxious about growing sideways,” said Ms Quinlan.“He wants to be able to drive a car. He wants a social life, he doesn’t want to be growing deformed.“But we’re talking quality of life. Because of the daily visits to Dr Wu, he can breathe very well. So we are not facing a life and death decision, we are facing a quality of life dilemma.”Mihdi was born in 1997 with progressive Kyphoscoliosis — or curvature of the spine — and a host of unrelated issues.He had to have heart surgery at the tender age of six months, and has only one kidney.Doctors did not expect Mihdi to live beyond ten years of age and refused to operate on him in 1999 when it was feared the surgery would do more harm than good.“Surgeons have said for years that spinal surgery, whatever procedures used, could result in partial disability, total disability or death.“Mihdi has been pain-free all of his life. This chronic spinal condition has been with him since he was in his mother’s womb,” said Mr Brock.“Any spinal surgery could result in chronic pain for the rest of his life.”Ms Quinlan and Mihdi are well aware of the risks which include possibly losing Mihdi’s only kidney, and because the surgery would require him to be immobile for an extended length of time, there is also a greater risk of strokes as Mihdi has a tendency to experience blood clots.“He’s had four different surgeries during his lifetime and the longest on the table was six hours,” she told The Royal Gazette.“But this is the big one. This is very rigorous surgery and certainly cannot be taken lightly, but the time to move forward and not move forward is now.”Ms Quinlan said that at 15 and a half, Mihdi is undergoing a puberty growth spurt — the curving of the spine increases with growth.Mr Brock, a student of Chinese medicine at the time, decided to try alternative eastern treatments.Unable to walk or talk at age two and a half, Mihdi began walking a year later and talking at age four, as a result of the treatment he received from former monk and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Dr Baolin Wu, according to Mr Brock.Mihdi’s prognosis changed and he was expected to live until age 55 to 70 if he continued with the treatment and lifestyle plan recommended by Dr Wu, but the custody battle got in the way, according to Mr Brock.“My greatest desire has been to see Mihdi become self-sufficient or, at the minimum, continue with the life-style and treatment plan he had been using until his spine ossifies at age 18.“Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the judge, minor’s counsel and his mother have not allowed for that.“I console myself with the sure knowledge that he is in the hands of God.”Ms Quinlan wants the same for their son.She would not go into the reasons why she sought sole custody — the two have been divorced since 2004 and been battling over custody for about three years now.But she is pleased with Mihdi’s progress at Santa Monica High school where he is enrolled in the “excellent special education department”.A few years behind his grade level, she expects him to catch up with his peers, given time.“I’m very hopeful that if we continue doing what we’re doing, Mihdi will be self sufficient and he can have a family of his own one day.”Bermudians have contributed thousands of dollars for Mihdi’s treatment through fundraising events and a special fund set up for the purpose.That was the result of Mr Brock’s unrelenting campaigning and publicity throughout the years.The parents agreed that the mother would work and focus on their other five children while he took care of Mihdi.“I have had the great pleasure of caring for my son virtually 24/7 since he was two years old, reared him and been his sole therapist under the guidance of Dr Wu.“If this can be seen as success, than this Mission for Mihdi has been successful, however I feel most parent expect their children to out live them,” said Mr Brock.“I was no different and I still pray for this but I am not wanting to see him suffer, languishing in pain or paralysed. This is why I looked for an alternative to surgery in 1999.”He continued: “When Dr. Wu asked me to quit medical school just before finishing to assist him, it was a no brainer.“Now the result is a happy, fully mobile teen. Thank you Bermuda for funding the life saving effort of Mihdi.”Mihdi is still seeing Dr Wu on a daily basis for treatment which includes herbal therapy, said Ms Quinlan.“The very fact that he goes to a school of 4,000 people and really does very well is all thanks to Dr Wu. If I decide to go for surgery, he’ll still be very involved and help to prepare him for surgery and treat him after the surgery.”As for financing, Ms Quinlan will not be seeking funding from Bermuda.“The Bermuda community has supported Mihdi for a very long time, and they have been there at a very critical time and they cannot be thanked enough,” she said. “And there are also other children that need help.“I just feel very strongly that Mihdi’s got three very healthy parents [Mr Brock has remarried] and we should take care of this internally.“I think we need to be self sufficient if at all possible and I think it can be possible.”