Friday, October 21, 2011

Spina Bifida Awareness: Meet Bekka!

Today we get to hear from Bekka, and her mom Nicole! Bekka is 9 and helped her mom write this.

Meet Bekka!


Hi, all. I'm Nicole, mother to Rebekah, who was born on June 18,2002 with myelomeningocele at the L3-4 level. Bekah and I have enjoyed reading all about others with Spina Bifida and I've asked her if she would like to tell you all about herself, and she said, "Yes!"

Here is what she would like you to know:

~She recently learned how to jump rope, frontwards and backwards. Her record so far is 10 jumps in a row!! Just this morning her jump rope got chewed up by the dogs after she left it in the yard overnight, so now we have to get her a new one.

~She is very good at math.

~She has butterflies and flowers on her braces (AFOs).

~She had a jogging test in PE last week that she was SO nervous about. But, it turns out that she worried for nothing because SHE PASSED!! (had to jog for 3 minutes without stopping).

~Her favorite things to do are making necklaces and bracelets and to READ...and play dressup. :):)

~She loves kittens and puppies!

~She has a best friend who is younger than her also named Rebecca, but it's spelled differently (and she doesn't have Spina Bifida). She is very excited because this year they get to ride the school bus together.

Rebekah has been a blessing to our family even before arrival. We found out at 16 weeks gestation that Bekah has SB. We underwent fetal surgery at 21 weeks and Rebekah made her appearance at 35 weeks. As is usually the case with SB, we were very uncertain what to expect when she came, but we knew we'd love and cherish her no matter what excitement, frustration, or worry she brought into our lives. She is the most lovable little thing, always hugging and kissing and touching. :):)

We've not had too many issues with regard to complications from SB other than UTIs. The Lord has seen us through all of them.


She has her original shunt and it's long enough that as long as it keeps functioning she won't have to have it messed with as she grows. We've had one scare, but it turns out that even though the docs thought she needed a revision, it was actually working so they canceled the surgery. The Lord saw us through that.

She's had a couple of infections in her knee when she was younger from walking on her knees instead of her feet and getting a wound that wouldn't heal. Thankfully it was simply in the wound and never spread to the bone. It was a long road of recovery for that "little" thing, but the Lord saw us through it.

She wears a hearing aid for hearing loss from otosclerosis, which the doctors told us is not SB related.

A number of years ago she got a burn on the back of her right calf after riding on an ATV. She had her leg resting on the exhaust pipe and nobody realized it, including her, until she got off. The Lord saw us through that.


Knowing that the Lord is going to see us through all of the ups and downs is what has given me strength from the beginning. I can remember being in amazement at the beginning of my pregnancy and the beginning of this journey that the Lord would see me a fit enough mother to bless me with this miracle, and I sit here still today, humbled and grateful every day that he has blessed me so.

Thank you Nicole and Bekka for sharing with us!

1 comments:

April Kennedy said...

I am loving reading these stories of other children and families in our same situation. Thank you sweet girl, Bekka, for helping your mom share your thoughts and all the fun things you are accomplishing! You go girl!