When Lacey Bower’s doctors first met her in utero, they had no idea she would be such a determined, cheerful, and clever baby girl. Lacey is nearly three years old and is making significant progress, both literally and metaphorically. She is proving her doctors wrong and making her parents extremely proud!Michael and Michelle Bower of Indiana were overjoyed to learn they were going to be parents in December 2019, after two years of trying.
And they were overjoyed to learn they were expecting a daughter.Their hopes were dashed, however, when the couple received devastating news following an ultrasound at 20 weeks. Lacey Bower was diagnosed with spina bifida, a neural tube defect that can result in paralysis, brain changes, and nerve damage and injury. Michael and Michelle got the terrifying news just one day after finding out they were expecting a girl.
“We wanted a girl,” Michelle explained. In less than 24 hours, we went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.” Michelle’s doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy. They predicted Lacey would never be able to talk, eat, walk, or breathe on her own. But the Bowers were determined to give their child a chance at life.Lacey was still in her mother’s womb at the time of the complicated 3-hour surgery.
Doctors at St. Louis Children’s Hospital closed the opening in Lacey’s spine before she was born on April 27th, with the help of a team of 35 medical professionals! Michelle spent the rest of her pregnancy in bed. Lacey was born nearly three months later, on July 20, via cesarean section. Lacey Bower, Little Lacey spent 18 days in the NICU, where doctors discovered she is partially paralyzed from the waist down, but that hasn’t stopped her!
Lacey’s accomplishments astound everyone. By the age of nineteen months, she could communicate like a typical three-year-old. She’s learned to roll over, sit, and pull herself up, and at almost three, she’s walking with a walker! Lacey Bower almost always has a contagious smile on her face, and she appears to be born with innate resilience and determination.
Mom and Dad attribute her remarkable progress to this.Living with Lacey allows her parents to witness God’s power in action every day. “Every day, you get to witness a miracle,” Michael explained. “It’s truly incredible because she was standing for the first time a year ago,” he added. I truly believe we will reach a point where she will no longer require a walker. She’s got that drive.”