Brianna Watkins
Born at just 29 weeks gestation, Brianna spent 45 days in the NICU at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Weighing only 2 lbs., 2 oz., when she was born; she weighed 4 lbs. when she came home.
At about 8-10 months old, Brianna was not crawling except for an “army” crawl. She wasn’t able to get her knees under her and couldn’t sit up and stand without crossing her legs. When her family took her to see the neurologist at Nemours Children’s Clinic, Brianna was diagnosed with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. They were referred to Dr. Louise Spierre and the Spasticity Clinic.
After Brianna underwent months of therapy and Botox injections, Dr. Spierre recommended a more permanent intervention, rhizotomy surgery with Dr. Philipp Aldana. Six months and a lot of preparation later, she was scheduled for surgery. The surgery took 6 hours, and every 2 hours, her family received an update from the OR. She was released to go home after 4 days.
Brianna is now working with a physical therapist 3 days a week and is almost walking on her own.
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