WARREN Physical challenges fail to deter teen from pursuing acting dreams

The JFK freshman was born with hydrocephalus, deafness and partial paralysis.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 14-year-old city resident's dreams of a career in front of a camera are closer to reality.
Brian Mosko, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School where he is a speech team member, has won five awards at the International Model and Talent Competition in New York City.
His awards included a Special Achievement Award and a scholarship for a weeklong stay at a camp where aspiring actors and models hone their crafts.
"I'm bursting with pride," said Brian's mother, Kathleen.
More than 1,800 contestants participated.
Mosko said she and her husband, Greg, were particularly touched when the founder of the competition read off a list of Brian's personal accomplishments and the audience responded with a standing ovation.
"What a rush to see that," Brian said. "I wasn't expecting that."
Brian is represented by Pro Model and Talent Management of Akron.
Many challenges
His mother thinks his accomplishment is even more significant considering all that he's had to face.
Brian was born with hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. He was also deaf and was diagnosed with Erb's Palsy, a disorder that caused paralysis on his right side.
A developmental specialist once told Mosko her son's IQ was 40 and that he was trainable but not to expect too much from him.
Mosko refused to accept the diagnosis.
Surgery restored Brian's hearing, and by working with his mother in home school and with the staff at Fairhaven's Early Intervention Program, Brian progressed.
Fairhaven is part of Trumbull County's Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
Because a critical portion of Brian's immune system is missing, he's more susceptible to illness. He undergoes treatment every four weeks, receiving medication that provides an artificial immune system intravenously -- a procedure he's received since he was 7.
The cost is $7,600 per infusion.
Insurance covers the treatments until Brian's 19th birthday, but his need for the infusions is a lifetime one.
People with the disease typically die between the ages of 15 and 30.
Fund for help
The family had set up a fund to raise money for Brian's trip to the competition.
Not a lot of people responded, but "the ones that did, you could tell they gave from their hearts," Mosko said.
"I just wanted people to know how well their money was spent -- to know from the bottom of our hearts how grateful we are," she said.
Brian plans to continue to pursue his acting and modeling career.
"Who knows, there may be a national television commercial in his future," his mother said.
denise.dick@vindy.com