The first year of any baby’s life is full of firsts.

But 9-month-old Granton Bayless has blessed his parents with a second round of remarkable milestones as he tries to conquer a rare immune condition that has thousands of people praying for him and more than 2,000 willing to share their bone marrow, if he needs it.

Instead, a recent umbilical-cord-blood transplant at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City has transformed Granton from a frail, nearly immobile patient into a bubbly baby who wiggles when he sees his masked and gloved parents enter his sterile hospital room.

Read the complete story at kansascity.com