Every year, thousands of babies are born with Spina Bifida.

It’s a birth defect where the spinal column does not close properly, exposing nerves to the environment.

Most babies born with Spina Bifida in the US have surgery soon after birth. But some children in other countries aren't so lucky. A little boy from Algeria suffered terribly for more than two years... Until his community helped raise money to send him to Mayo Clinic.

"Unbearable. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, he had to live two years with this pain."

The You Tube video is not easy to watch. Mounib Ferchichi was born in Algiers with a severe form of spina bifida. His spinal chord did not close and his nerves that control walking and other functions pushed out into a sac of fluid called a meningocele. He could not walk or even sit. His mother Salima says her son spent the first two years of his life tilted forward on his stomach.

"He was in pain and doctors didn't do anything."

Then the sac on Mounib's back broke. He developed meningitis and slipped into a coma.

"His eyes were closed. He was breathing through a tube."

Doctors in Algiers operated on Mounib, but it did not help. Then thanks to donations from the community, Mounib was transported to Mayo Clinic.

"Probably the only reason the child survived, truthfully, for two years was due to the tremendous, obvious love and energy of his mother and family."

Neurosurgeon Fredric Meyer teamed up with other specialists in plastic surgery and pediatrics to customize a treatment plan for Mounib. First they cleared his body of infections. Then Dr. Meyer opened the skin covering on Mounib's spine and put the exposed nerve roots back into the spinal canal. Then he closed the spinal canal and plastic surgeons closed the skin. No one was sure how mounib would do after surgery.

"Bravo! Bravo!"

"He can move his feet, he can move his legs, he can sit down, he can eat with his own hands."

Salaam says Mounib is without pain. He can play and laugh for the first time. Physical therapists are helping Mounib get stronger and walk better than expected.

Doctors aren't sure how far Mounib will go with physical therapy — whether or not he'll be able to walk unassisted. But now there's the promise of a full, productive life.

"I didn't want to lose him. He's my life."