When our next guest was, born he was given
an 18% chance of survival.
And now, nine years later, he wants
to give back to the doctors and nurses that saved his life.
From Bedford, New Hampshire, please
welcome Elliot and his parents.
Hi.
Thanks so much for being here.
Elliot, how are you doing?
This is awesome.
I never thought I would hear my voice and now it's on the show.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, your voice is on the show.
And your bow tie is-- you look very dapper.
I like the way you look.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I heard there was something that you wanted
me to know about your smile.
Yeah.
Oh, they told you.
All right.
So I might not be smiling from the outside
but I have a big smile on the inside.
So if I don't smile from the outside,
there's a big smile on the inside.
That's good to know.
I can see it in your eyes.
I see that you're smiling right now.
So how long was he in the hospital after he was born?
I mean, I think I know, but everybody needs to know.
Tell everybody what happened when he was born, and how early
and how long he was there.
Sure.
Elliot was born 25 weeks to term,
so about three months early.
And he spent 121 days at The Children's Hospital
at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
And he weighed 1 pound 9 ounces, so he
was about the size of a water bottle.
And during that time, we celebrated our anniversary,
Carrie's 30th birthday, we saw summer, fall, winter,
and even a hurricane.
Wow, that is so hard to not be able to be
there, and especially when they give him
an 18% chance of survival.
And Elliot, your story is so incredible.
So the doctors didn't think you'd walk or talk.
So the doctors said, sorry Mr and Mrs Perry,
your son won't be able to walk, talk.
And I was born with collateral clubbed feet,
which means my feet were turned in this way.
I'm trying to figure out how to do it,
but it was turned in that way.
And, well, I'm walking, I'm talking.
I no longer have clubbed feet.
I'm enjoying this awesome opportunity,
and I'm definitely talking.
Yeah.
And you definitely have an amazing personality,
and you're super smart.
I can just see that.
That's incredible, just to go back and think,
to hear that sentence come from the doctors
and to see who he is today.
Elliot, I know that you watch the show
and there's someone on the show that you have a bit-- you're
like a huge fan of someone.
Who is that?
That is Macey Hensley, your presidential expert.
Yep.
She's pretty smart, huh?
Yeah.
Well, she wanted to send you a message,
so take a look at this.
Hi Elliot, it's me, Macey Hensley.
Elliot, I think you are an amazing kid
and you're a big inspiration for me and many others.
I hope I get to meet you in person one day.
Maybe we can go to Disneyland and even
go to The Hall of Presidents.
Trust me, it is so cool.
Well, bye Elliot.
All right.
Well, you're smiling there.
I see that smile.
[LAUGHTER]
All right, we're going to take a break.
We want to talk some more after this.
We'll be right back.
Please tell us about the project that you're working on.
Thank you, again.
So the project is called the-- our project
name is called the 121 Club.
121 is how many days I spent inpatient
at The Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, otherwise known
as CHaD.
Our goal is to build 2 ADA compliant playgrounds.
So you're still raising money to open up two playground's.
Our friends at Shutterfly want to help.
Shutterfly loves helping people tell their inspiring stories
like yours.
They want to give you $20,000 to help build
that playground, all right?
Thank you.
Elliot, say thank you.
Thank you so much, Ellen.
Elliot--
Amazing-- unreal.
And all the families, all the adults,
and all of the staff at CHad can't thank you enough.
Is it OK-- oh, can I send you a gift?
[LAUGHTER]
You--
It's this.
One of the-- the first hat I wore.
It was knitted by my parents.
It says Elliot, but it kind of looks like Ellen.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, it will fit me because I have a child size head.
I can't-- nothing ever fits me so I think it's going to fit.
And you know, Elliot was my dad's name,
so I will take it like that too.
So I like that name, Elliot.