Meet 6-year-old Grayson Kole Smith — who after 36 surgeries and a grim prognosis has overcome the odds to live his life.

Grayson was born with several serious medical issues that worried and perplexed his family and doctors upon his birth.

He was barely breathing. He was blind and deaf. His eyes were swollen shut, and he was missing a chunk of his skull. He had a hole in his heart, a curve in his spine, and severe facial deformations.

In fact, doctors quickly placed little Grayson into hospice care and told his family to prepare for the worst. Doctors were completely stumped and couldn’t figure out the root cause of his condition; and no amount of genetic testing or DNA results seemed to provide the answers.

The medical community has concluded that Grayson is the only person in the world to be born with his disease, which is why it has been named after him: Grayson’s syndrome.

While doctors didn’t expect Grayson to live much longer than a year — 6 years and 36 surgeries later, he continues to defy all medical odds.

Click here to watch a clip from a special Inside Edition did on Grayson (scroll to the bottom for the video) and see below for another video about Grayson!