Seven-year-old Kaden Koscoe looks and acts like a typical kid. He plays baseball, takes guitar lessons and loves video games.

But the scar on the back of his head and neck tells another story.

Kaden is the son of Kara and Andrew Koscoe of Flushing. In July 2008, he received surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and spinal cord, caused by his skull. The probelm stemmed from a condition he was born with called Chiari 1 Malformation.

"It's a parents' nightmare. ... It was very traumatic for all of us and overwhelming. When he had the MRI, we hoped and expected nothing. It was just like a bomb was going off in our world," Kara Koscoe said.

To raise awareness of the disease and funding to find a cure, a 5K walk is slated for 10 a.m. Saturday at Barkcamp State Park, Belmont. The walk will begin at the park's beach area. Registration begins at 9 a.m. There is no entry fee, but donations are welcomed. There will be free food, children's activities and about 30 prize giveaways.

Kara Koscoe, who organized the walk, said her goal is to the raise $5,000 for Children's Neurobiological Solutions, a nonprofit research foundation. She said $2,000 already has been raised, thanks to donations from community members. For more information, call her at 740-968-0527.

Kara Koscoe said her son's ordeal began in 2007 when he started having trouble swallowing certain foods. Various types of therapy did not help. In 2008, Kaden had a bout of pain in the back of his head and eyes that caused him to scream. His parents gave him Tylenol, which appeared to work. But a week later, the pain occurred again.

After meeting with his pediatrician, the family was referred to neurologists at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, where Kaden was diagnosed with Chiari 1 Malformation.

An MRI revealed his cerebullum, or bottom part of his brain, had slipped 19 millimeters, putting pressure on his spinal cord and the brain itself.

His brain had become too big for his skull, malformed since birth.

A neurosurgeon performed a decompression surgery, which involved removing a piece of skull to relieve the pressure. One or two vertebrae also were removed, and dura mater, or a membrane from around the brain, was used to cushion the cerebullum.

Kara Koscoe said it is possible Kaden may need additional surgeries in the future, that the bone could grow back. Only time will tell. But doctors are keeping eye on it - every few months, Kaden must receive a MRI.

Kaden said he feels good these days. And he plans to not only finish the 5K walk, but win it. His team, which he named the Monster Walkers, has 60 members.

"Kids are resilient," Kara Koscoe said. "I think it was harder on us than on him. We had to watch him go through everything."

Kaden has a brother, Austin, 10, and sister Alexandria, 3. Kara Koscoe is an Ohio State Highway Patrol dispatcher in Cambridge, and Andrew Koscoe is a correctional officer at the Belmont Correctional Institution.