Like many parents, Michael and Michelle Bower were over the moon when they learned they were expecting their first child.
The Indiana couple were especially excited that they were having a girl, but a 20-week ultrasound plunged the future of their family into uncertainty. The scan showed their daughter, Lacey, has spina bifida, a type of neural tube defect that can cause paralysis, changes to the brain, and severe trauma injuries to the nerves.
“We had just found out that we were having a girl the day before,” Michelle recalled. “We wanted a girl. We went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows in under 24 hours.”
Doctors told the devastated couple that their daughter would likely never walk, talk, eat, or even breathe on her own. They recommended that Michelle terminate the pregnancy, but the couple felt strongly that they wanted to give Lacey a fighting chance at life. To do so, Michelle underwent a risky 3-hour surgery to close the opening in Lacey’s spine while she was still in utero.
Michelle and Lacey had surgery on April 27, 2020. Over 35 medical professionals were in the room as they performed the delicate operation, and Michelle was confined to her bed on strict bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy.
Lacey was born via cesarean section on July 20. The infant was whisked away to the NICU, where she spent the next 18 days learning to feed and beginning to wiggle her toes and ankles. Doctors determined she is partially paralyzed from the waist down, but from day one, Lacey started beating the odds!
To the amazement of everyone in her life, Lacey started developing on a relatively normal schedule. In fact, by the time she was 19 months old, she could speak at the level of your average 3-year-old. Physically, she never let her partial paralysis slow her down, learning how to roll over, sit, and pull herself up to standing on her own. Now that she’s almost three, she has even taken her first steps with help from a walker!
“She does more than that doctor ever imagined,” Michelle said proudly. “She is pulling to stand, and supported standing on her own now. She can climb up onto the couch and go to town on her rocking horse.”
“Every day you get to witness a miracle,” said Michael.
Lacey is seldom seen without a smile on her face, and her laughter could melt even the coldest heart. She is clever and inquisitive, and most importantly, determined. Her parents believe that it’s her determination that has helped her defy the odds and learn to walk on her own.
“It really is incredible because one year ago, she was standing for the first time,” marveled her dad. “You know, doing something we never thought we’d see Lacey do. And now it’s been a year, and she can walk in her walker, and I mean completely supporting all of her own weight, which is just incredible, and I truly believe we’re going to get to a point where she doesn’t even need a walker. She has that drive.”
Some people seem to be born with a “never say never” attitude! We can’t wait to see how far this little superstar goes in life.
Don’t forge to share this story of incredible perseverance.
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