We found out about Bella’s diagnosis of Spina Bifida when I was 18 weeks pregnant. She was born at 38 weeks at IU med and was taken straight to Riley for surgery. She had surgery on her back to close her spine at 5 hours old. We stayed at Riley for 8 days. For the first year we made weekly trips to Riley to get casts put on her legs to correct her club feet and to bring her legs down. She has had 5 additional surgeries in her 4 1/2 years of life.
Bella is spunky sweet little girl. She has the biggest heart. She is paralyzed below the knees and has dislocated hips. She can walk some with a walker or forearm crutches, but usually crawls or uses a wheelchair to get around. We are so thankful for what Riley did for us, it has allowed our little girl to do amazing things. She has pushed the bounds of what we expected her to do, and continually does. Thank you for all of your support of Riley and the miracles that it makes happen.