PUEBLO, Colo. (November 1, 2012)—Nickolas Coke of Pueblo, Colo., who survived three years without a brain, has died.

The boy was born with only a brain stem, a condition known as anencephaly.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information says most babies born with anencephaly live only a few days.

The center says the condition occurs in 1 out of 10,000 births.

Nickolas' grandmother, Sherri Kohut, told KOAA-TV she believes Nickolas came down with a virus.

She said that he had difficulty breathing on Wednesday and eventually his breathing stopped.

She said three attempts to revive him failed.

Relatives say Nickolas survived without special medical equipment but required several kinds of medicine.

Kohut says Nickolas taught his family how to love and about the strength of family.

She recalls him laughing as he played among pumpkins recently.