Home Run for Life – Masen Ingle

At just 3 feet tall, Masen Ingle is the shortest student in his kindergarten class at Beiger Elementary. But don’t be fooled because this 5-year-old boy, despite a rare genetic disorder, has a personality that is larger than life.

“What he lacks in size he makes up in personality,” says his mother, Nicole. “Everyone knows him at Memorial. He’s like a Hollywood star there.”

Masen, the youngest of three boys, was born with Morquio syndrome, which occurs in every 200,000 births. He was diagnosed at age 2 with symptoms that include bone abnormalities, dwarfism, knock-knees, a curvature of the spine and irregular chest growth.

To stop the progression of the disease, Masen needs enzyme replacement therapy, a treatment that used to require a weekly trip to a Chicago hospital. But three years ago, he was able to start receiving the same treatment close to home at Memorial Children’s Hospital.

“Memorial has been great,” says Nicole. “The whole staff is accommodating and his nurse Wendy (Nash) goes above and beyond for him.”

“Whatever the staff can do to put a smile on a kid’s face that is going through something terrible, they will do it. I find that amazing,” says Masen’s father, Jason.

Despite his small stature, Masen is always up for the challenge of proving he can do anything other kids can do.

“Morquio is what he has, but it’s not what he is — we won’t let the disease define him,” says Nicole. “As long as he can make the best of it and be who he wants to be, then that’s all I can hope for.”

Get an up-close look at Masen and the amazing kid he is: