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She’s called Amazing Grace. Before she was even born, Grace was diagnosed with a crippling condition that would threaten her ability to walk like other children.
Her mother, Kim, was receiving prenatal care at Tufts Medical Center when an alarming problem with Grace’s spine was diagnosed. Ultrasound revealed not only a rare spinal abnormality but also the development of club feet. Kim’s OB-GYN doctor called in the leading specialists from three different departments – Maternal Fetal Medicine, Pediatric Orthopedics and Neurosurgery – to assist in her care.
Grace was born with a severe spinal condition that afflicts only about ten babies a year in the United States. Some of her vertebrae were either misaligned or broken and her back had a definite “S” shape to it. A team of pediatric specialists mapped out the game plan that would allow Grace to stand and walk on her own feet.
A chest and back brace were custom-made to stabilize the baby’s spine until she was strong enough for major spinal surgery. The plan included two surgeries and multiple castings for her club feet – the first at six months and the second at a year. This was followed by intensive physical therapy and the wearing of corrective books and bars on her feet.
Grace underwent a nine-hour vertebrectomy shortly after her second birthday. This highly specialized procedure involved removal of bone and disc and the insertion of a piece of metal that would support her spine and allow the vertebrae to fuse, as well as two rods that further stabilized her spine. Grace recovered in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, spending six weeks in an almost full-body cast before transitioning into another brace. Amazingly, the toddler was walking within eight weeks of the surgery!
“I can’t say enough about Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children,” said Kim. “I’ve been to a lot of different hospitals and have never been treated the way I’m treated here. Everyone on staff remembers us. We’re treated like family. And what’s even better about Tufts Medical Center is that Grace can continue her care here even when she outgrows Floating Hospital for Children… and I know the care will be the same and everyone will know her and her case.” 
Grace celebrated her 4th birthday this past July and recently participated in her first ballet and tap recital – without wearing any braces at all! Grace will require monitoring well into adulthood, and we will be there for her, every step of the way.
Young or old, or any age in between, Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children are here for every patient who needs us. In a city of exceptional hospitals, finding all the health care you will ever need under one roof is truly unique. The presence of a world-class pediatric hospital within a world-class medical center creates a health care synergy that enables us to treat patients in a way that would otherwise be impossible.
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