• Meet Chloe

    "We had a typical pregnancy and expected an equally typical birth," recalls Chloe's mom, Ann. "But, I knew after she was born that something was wrong when they didn't bring her over to me."

    Their pediatrician diagnosed Chloe with spina bifida. "'Spina what-it-a,'" Ann remembers saying. "We didn't even know how to say it, let alone what it was."

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    Spina bifida is a birth defect, which occurs during the earliest stages of pregnancy causing abnormal development of the spine. It can have effects including paralysis and multiple complex health issues.

    Two weeks after Chloe was born, Ann and her husband, Matt, came to Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare with Chloe. "The first time we walked into the hospital everyone was coming up to us and commenting on how cute she was," recalls Ann. "We were still dealing with the news of her diagnosis, so it was so incredible to come into this place where everyone saw her for the cute, wonderful person she is."

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    Today Chloe is 8 years old and loves to swing, play dolls, and give makeovers. She walks with the help of leg braces, which she calls her "helpers," and hot pink arm crutches.

    Thanks to the advanced medical care Chloe receives at Gillette, it's her personality—not her disability—that defines who she is.