A little girl whose parents were told she would never walk is now running around like other 5-year-olds after receiving emergency spinal surgery while still in the womb.
This miracle of modern medicine was available to first-time parents Georgia Axford and Tyler Kelly, then just 19 and 21, who were told their unborn baby had spina bifida after an ultrasound at 20 weeks.
The condition causes weakness or paralysis in the lower limbs, and the parents were told it was likely their child wouldn’t walk.
The couple decided to travel to Germany for treatment, which saw the unborn baby operated on in the womb at a cost of just £9,000, or around $11,500.
Piper-Kohl Kelly was then born healthy in July 2018 and named after surgeon Dr. Thomas Kohl. Now five, she can walk and run and recently took part in her school’s sports day.
“Seeing her run on the tracks was amazing. I never thought she’d be able to do something like that,” said Georgia. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real. I think back to what we were told, and they were really negative about Piper’s diagnosis.”
Spina bifida can leave sufferers dependent on supports or crutches, and in severe cases, they can be wheelchair-bound. Doctors were confident that this would be the case for Piper-Kohl.
Georgia hails from South Yorkshire, in the Northeast of England. For all the stress and negativity of the diagnosis, and even though Piper was induced at 32 weeks and sat in the neonatal intensive care unit for 52 days, they ended up getting the chance to live a normal life from the same moment as other babies.
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“When she was around two, her physio gave her a walking frame—she doesn’t use it anymore, but we have it in case she needs the support,” Georgia explains. “She used it for about a year while she was starting to walk, but now she walks completely independently.”
“She does get really tired and can’t go for really long distances, but she does so well, especially considering what we were told,” she said.
An additional heartwarming part of the story is that Piper’s surgeon, Dr. Thomas Kohl, is a family friend who receives routine updates about Piper’s progress, with the two even sharing the same birthday.
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While the family’s journey hasn’t been easy by any means, Georgia and Tyler are filled with pride over their daughter’s progress and are hoping to continue to witness the “kind and caring girl” do anything she puts her mind to.
“It’s a miracle that she’s been through it and is who she is today. She’s been through a lot in her life,” said Georgia. “She loves coloring and anything to do with arts and crafts. She loves school, and she has a really good group of friends. She beats the odds all the time and whatever she does, I’ll be so proud of her.”
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