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BETHANY — On the outside, Jaxx Denny is like any other 8-month-old baby.

Park him in front of a TV showing a cartoon, and he’s content. The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a favorite.

He giggles with glee when dad Pete hoists him up in the air.

He cries when mom Tammy hands him off to a stranger for too long, but glances back flirtatiously once he’s safely in her arms.

But X-rays show a different picture of Jaxx on the inside.

Jaxx is missing six ribs on his right side, and the remaining ones are fused together. He also has scoliosis, or a curved spine.

His condition, thoracic insufficiency syndrome, inhibits normal breathing and lung growth. As Jaxx grows, the little pants he takes between bites of food or swigs of milk will turn into major breathing problems.

The Dennys leave today for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where Jaxx will undergo a six-hour procedure for doctors to insert an expandable titanium rib in his chest.

Jaxx will have to undergo surgeries to expand the rib every four to six months, allowing the chest wall to expand and his lungs to grow.

The first surgery, scheduled for Tuesday, is the big one.

“If we get through this, the rest is going to be a breeze,” Pete Denny said.

Jaxx’s health problems were evident long before his birth on May 27, 2011.

Tammy chose not to undergo genetic testing with her two older children, 7-year-old Elijah and 5-year-old Leah.

But she was 34 years old when she became pregnant with Jaxx and thought it would be a smart thing to do.

The tests came back abnormal.

The Dennys weren’t too concerned initially. But as Tammy’s pregnancy progressed, doctors were able to tell them more. They said Jaxx was missing just one rib, the right side of three vertebrae and his right kidney.

It wasn’t until Jaxx was born that the Dennys learned the full extent of his condition. It’s one of the most severe cases of thoracic insufficiency syndrome doctors had ever seen, the couple was told.

Right now, Jaxx doesn’t have too many complications, other than a noticeable lean to the right.

“He works a little harder to breathe sometimes, but he’s not compromised,” said Tammy, a nurse. “He doesn’t appear to ever be in any pain.”

Elijah and Leah can’t roughhouse with baby brother and probably won’t ever be able to. The surgery will allow Jaxx to lead a fairly normal life, but contact sports aren’t in his future.

“He’s going to play Ping-Pong,” Pete said.

“There’s golf,” his wife quips.

That the Dennys can joke is a sign of their faith, a faith they said has only gotten stronger as they’ve dealt with their son’s health crisis.

The couple, who have been married for eight years, have never wanted for anything. But they’ve gotten more than they need from their community.

It’s come in many forms: anonymous monetary donations in the mail, meals, offers to watch their older children and prayers.

“Jaxx has been prayed for more than probably any person I know,” Pete said.

The well wishes have come from loved ones and strangers.

Pete Denny remembered a business call he took days before Jaxx was born, when there was still so much unknown. His unborn son heavy on his mind, he broke down and told the caller what his family was going through. The man prayed for him over the phone.

“It’s just been time after time of things like that happening,” he said.

“It’s just so encouraging to be loved.”

Steve Griffith, the Dennys’ pastor at Osborne Baptist Church in Eden, said the couple’s faith and love of others is what has led people to help them during their time of need.

“I think it says something about Pete and Tammy,” Griffith said.

And there’s something about babies that captures people’s hearts, Griffith added.

Jaxx has seemed to charm everyone who hears his story. As news about his upcoming surgery has spread, the outpouring of love has snowballed.

The Dennys had “Team Jaxx” T-shirts made — the “T” in team is in the form of a crooked spine. They’re in high demand.

The Dennys will get a special send-off prayer from their church today. Pete Denny said he plans to update his son’s supporters Tuesday through Jaxx’s Facebook page, aptly named “Straightening Up”.

Jaxx has already beat the odds once with his birth, and his parents are expecting him to again with this surgery.

“We call him our little miracle baby,” Tammy said.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 373-7080 or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com