Romeila and Eiko's Surgery Story

We received our baby's spina bifida diagnosis in May 2017. I was crushed and cried for days. I imagined the worst things possible. She is my only daughter with 4 older brothers. I wondered what her life would be like. Would she be in pain? Would she be happy? We decided the right course of action for our baby and our family was fetal surgery. Eiko was the first baby to have spina bifida fetal surgery on Canadian soil.

Eiko and I had surgery June 4th, 2017, and stayed at Mount Sinai for 2 weeks to recover. I was sent home to continue on bed rest until she was ready to make her grand debut. She stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks after birth, until her back had fully healed, and she had completed all the required tests. She was very well cared for in Mount Sinai's NICU. The teams at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto are the BEST. Dr. Ryan, Dr. Van Mieghen, Dr. Drake and Dr. Kulkarni are all AMAZING doctors! Should you decide fetal surgery is right for you and your family, you and your baby will be in excellent hands.

Today Eiko is doing great! She is walking independently, her back has fully healed, her brain is stable and no shunt is needed right now. She surpassed all of my initial expectations.