Boy Scout turns 'mud pit' into a $60K playground

KRASNOYARSK, Russia (CNN) -- "It kept you alive," a tearful Dwight Griffith told his adopted son as the two looked at an infant incubator during a tour of the Russian hospital where he was born.

Alex Griffith, 16, raised more than $60,000 for a new playground at the Russian hospital where he was born.

More than a decade after L.S. Berzon City Clinical Hospital No. 20 cared for him, 16-year-old Alex Griffith wanted to show his gratitude.

"Russia is part of me and this hospital is part of me. They gave me life, so I [wanted] to give back to them, to give them a fun place to play," said Alex, who lives in Forest Hill, Maryland.

As part of a Boy Scout project, Alex donated hundreds of hours and raised tens of thousands of dollars to build a new playground for the hospital.

Alex -- originally named Sergey -- was abandoned by his parents shortly after he was born at the hospital in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. He weighed less than 2 pounds and doctors said he had a mild case of cerebral palsy.

His condition improved slightly over the next 11 months, when Dwight and Jenny Griffith adopted him.

Read more about this remarkable story and a very inspirational Eagle Scout right here in our own council by going to CNN website.