GRANTSVILLE, Utah — Watching their son play baseball is more than just excitement for Colton and Jadyn Carter — it’s the kind of hope they want other families going through their situation to also have.
"He was such an ambitious kid. He never wanted to sit still despite everything that he was going through,” Jadyn said about her son Kashton.
Kashton Carter looks like any other 8-year-old having the time of his life playing baseball.
"He just showed a love and a really immediate passion to the sport and as parents, it’s been an amazing thing to witness,” said Jadyn.
"I love baseball because batting, sliding and playing with my friends,” said Kashton.
But being on his feet and running the bases wasn’t always this easy.
"At my 20-week anatomy ultrasound, they discovered that Kashton had bilateral clubfoot, which is the shortening and tightening of the Achilles tendon and the tendons within the foot,” explained Jadyn.
The chance of a baby having clubfoot is about 1 in 1,000. It was a condition they did not know much about.
"I think as parents, almost take a little bit of blame, like what does your child's future look like at that point?” said Jadyn.
A couple weeks after Kashton was born, his treatment began.
"They do plaster casts from the hips down. They change them weekly to stretch their feet out, and point them in the outward direction instead of being in,” Jadyn explained.
They have so much gratitude for their doctors and nurses at Primary Children’s and Shriners Hospital.
"We're only as much as help as we can offer as parents. We owe a lot to the doctors that helped us through, made us feel comfortable,” said Colton.
From there, Kashton went through surgeries and multiple rounds of casts and boots — never striking out.
"Was it ever scary?” FOX 13 News asked him.
“No, not really. A little scary, not much though,” answered Kashton, all with a big smile on his face.
"He didn’t let anything stop him. We were pretty amazed by just how well he took the cast. It was almost like it was normal for him,” said Colton.
Now, he's shining on the baseball field — traveling with his team from Nevada to play in Grantsville.
"It’s amazing to see his progression. Sometimes it’s almost like I know that it happened but I almost forget sometimes because he's so just completely normal,” said Jadyn.
Kashton's family hopes his story helps other families know they are not alone.
“It will be okay. To not give up hope, and not get discouraged in yourself and know that this is just a small piece of the story — it's just right now. It’s not forever,” said Jadyn.
"You guys will be alright. You got this,” said Kashton.
