Spina Bifida
Carol Grace, the daughter of Hope and Chad Bailey of Tuscaloosa, was diagnosed with spina bifida while in utero. Hope’s obstetrician arranged for her to have her baby at University Hospital in Birmingham. When Carol Grace was born, she was immediately transferred to Children’s Hospital, where she underwent surgery to put in a shunt to keep the spinal fluid flowing correctly. Surgeons also closed an opening in her back that left her spine exposed; that opening was the size of a small Styrofoam cup. Her caregivers at Children’s agree! They’re always happy to see the Baileys when Carol Grace comes in to the Spina Bifida Clinic for her checkups and also for shunt revisions (she’s needed two, so far). Dr. Jerry Oakes is her neurosurgeon, and she also seen by an orthopedic surgeon, an urologist, a rehabilitation specialist, a neurologist, a pediatric ophthalmologist and her physical therapist, Scott Sol. In Tuscaloosa, she receives therapy from Kim Marsh, a local pediatric physical therapist. Hope says that Children’s “saved her baby” and keeps her daughter going today – and attending preschool at RISE in the Stallings Center at the University of Alabama. “Hopefully, there are no more surgeries in the near future for Carol, but if help is needed it’s good to know that Children’s always will be there.
