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Mom Hopes Son's Struggles With Growth Convince Others To Ask Questions

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Naperville woman is sharing her story - the reason she started the Magic Foundation 28 years ago, which is now marking "Growth Awareness Week."

"My son was my first born, and everything was fine; a perfectly normal healthy boy," Mary Andrews said.

Her son, Deno, was born in 1971.

"Two years later I had my daughter, and as she began to stand up, I would look at the two of them, and I was concerned that my son wasn't growing, because she was catching up to him," Andrews said.

Her pediatrician said, basically, he'll grow; but she wasn't convinced of that, so she took him to a specialist.

"My son was 5 and my daughter was 3. She was actually 3-and-a-half inches taller than him," she said.

Then, she got news she dreaded.

"He was originally diagnosed never to be four feet tall," Andrews said.

After years of hormone therapy, Deno now stands 5-foot-7.

Growth 2
After years of hormone therapy, Deno Andrews now stands 5-foot-7. When he was only 5, he was more than 3 inches shorter than his sister, who was only 3. (Credit: Mary Andrews)

"He's married and has two beautiful children," she said.

The organization Andrews founded, the Magic Foundation, is encouraging parents concerned about their child's growth to ask the same questions she did.

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