Winnipeg boy, 5, with rare disorder gets minutes to grab all the toys he can

Winnipeg's Max Bannister has gone through more surgeries than most adults in his short life. To make his world a little brighter, on Tuesday he went on a shopping spree thanks to the help of Starlight Children's Foundation and Toys "R" Us.

For three minutes, the five-year-old and his seven-year-old brother Will got to pick any toys they wanted. They left the store with four shopping carts full of toys: foam guns, Play-Doh, and more.

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"I had Max on my hip and he was howling the whole time. He was laughing his face off and holding on for dear life because we were running as quickly as we [could]," said his mother, Liz Bannister.

Max suffers from a rare genetic disorder called partial trisomy 12q24, which causes heart defects. As a baby, he underwent heart surgery to repair eight holes in his heart. Since then, he's had 20 additional surgeries to repair his airways and scarring around his trachea.

"[The disorder] is very rare," said his mother, Liz Bannister.

"Most kids that have it actually don't survive. So Max is very, very fortunate."

Max will be getting an additional surgery to repair his vocal cords next summer, but in the meantime he'll be digging into a huge pile of toys. 

The big hit was Bubble Guppies merchandise.The family dropped by the store a couple times before the spree to locate where all the Bubble Guppies items were placed. They left Toys "R" Us on Tuesday with every single book and toy associated with the children's cartoon show, said Bannister. 

While Max's heart is now considered to be healthy, he still has a long recovery ahead.

He learned to walk at four years old, he has a clubfoot, low muscle tone, and developmentally, Bannister said he's at the level of a three-year-old.

"He's getting bigger, his airway is getting bigger, he's getting stronger so things are definitely on the upswing," she said. 

"It's just incredible to be able to give my kids something that kids dream about … it makes us feel so grateful that we could give [Max] that experience."