It is the most common complex birth defect. Spina bifida affects approximately one out of every 1,000 children born in the United States. In this comprehensive guide, Dr. Adrian Sandler offers a wealth of useful information on the medical, developmental, and psychological aspects of this condition. Accurate, accessible, and up-to-date, Living with Spina Bifida is written especially for families and professionals who care for children, adolescents, and adults with spina bifida. This edition contains a new preface by the author, addressing recent developments in research and treatment, as well as an updated list of spina bifida associations.

Provides parents of children with spina bifida information on prenatal diagnosis, health concerns, treatments, therapies, and causes.

Welcome to the Adventures of Mike Believe. This children's book series will change your child's life by igniting the part of their imagination that helps to create the future of their dreams. The first book, "Wheelz On The Moon," will show them how to activate their imagination through visualization. The next book will show them how to turn that visualization into feelings that will shape their actual reality through love and an unbreakable belief in themselves. Aaron Fotheringham and Mike Dolman are on a mission to change the way kids use their thoughts and feelings to create their future, support one another, and not let anything stop them on their journey to making their dreams come true. KIDS ARE THE ILLUSTRATORS OF THIS BOOK! They can draw right inside the book!Join us in changing the world. If you think being in a wheelchair isn't fun, you've never met Aaron Fotheringham, a.k.a Wheelz. Wheelz is a 'Professional' WCMX (Wheelchair Motocross) athlete. He was born with Spina bifida, a birth defect of the spinal chord that causes limited usage of his legs. But that doesn't stop Wheelz from showing the world that a wheelchair is not just a medical device, but rather, an extreme sports machine! Synopsis: Mike Believe reveals his dream of becoming the first kid to ever skateboard on the moon! But Mike's mom want's him to skateboard less and focus more on school. Mike's best friend, Aaron Dreams, a.k.a. "WHEELZ," is living proof that anything is possible. Born with Spina Bifida, a birth defect of the spinal cord, Wheelz has limited usage of his legs, but this doesn't stop him from using his wheelchair every day to chase his dreams!Wheelz starts to see that there are no limits to what he can achieve in life when his father teaches him the power of his imagination. When Mike Believe's classmate, Perscilla Pout, doubts his ability to get to the moon, Mike loses faith in himself. But Wheelz won't let him give up on his dream. Wheelz teaches Mike how to activate his imagination, and suddenly, getting to the moon seems possible after all! Will Mike Believe's imagination be strong enough to visualize a way to the moon? Or will his dream be crushed by his doubts and fears...On their incredible journey to the moon, the boys learn that they aren't alone. Someone is leading them to discover what an open mind is truly capable of. But first, they must let go of their limiting beliefs of whats possible, and strengthen their imaginations. Join Mike Believe, and Wheelz, on their journey to unlocking limitless imagination, true friendship, and maybe even other worlds!

Larry Appelmann talks about his experiences, including the past surgeries he has had. He also mentions his family and how important they are to him. Living with Spina Bifida: Speaking Out About My Disability contains 13 chapters, including a prologue and a bibliography, which you normally would not see in an autobiography but he included one because there were a lot of things related to his disability that he wanted to include in his autobiography. Click here to read a special message from the author.

Spinal dysraphism (SD) is a congenital malformation that to a varying extent, often severely, affects the life of the child and the family. Most individuals with SD suffer from neurogenic bladder and bowel dysfunction—with the risk of urinary tract infections, renal deterioration, urinary and fecal incontinence—that affects social participation and quality of life negatively. In newborns with SD, early detection of neurogenic bladder dysfunction and determination of post-void residual urine are required to determine the need of clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) and follow-up. The non-invasive method of four-hour voiding observation with provocation test (VOP) was used to evaluate bladder function in 50 newborn children with SD. Voiding patterns for the children were described and compared with those of 50 healthy newborns evaluated with VOP in an earlier study. Comparison revealed significant differences among several variables. In particular, leakage at provocation test and not voiding with a stream were common in newborns with SD but did not occur in healthy newborns. VOP is a non-invasive standardized method to determine residual urine in newborns with SD. It also adds information on voiding pattern, frequency, voiding with a stream and leakage at provocation. Findings in neonatal VOP of the same cohort of newborns with SD were then related to radiology, presence of urinary tract infections during the first year, and urodynamic findings and use of CIC at the age of one year. It was found that, in children with SD, not voiding with a stream may have a predictive value for the need of CIC at the age of one year, followed probably by lifelong CIC. Despite this, the presence of an open SD per se has stronger predictive value, and each child needs to be evaluated individually while considering a number of factors. The main value of VOP may be as a structured non-invasive screening method to uncover neurogenic bladder-sphincter dysfunction in the newborn. Studies with a larger number of subjects than the present are needed to evaluate the potential of VOP in newborns with closed spinal dysraphism in whom the neurological consequences vary. A retrospective analysis detected renal damage on DMSA scintigraphy in 5 of 41 children with SD who were followed according to a proactive national program with minimal use of surgery. Median follow-up time was 10 years. High baseline pressure was confirmed as a risk factor for renal damage. Compliance with treatment and follow-up is likely to be an important factor for renal health. Therefore, efforts to support children and their families are crucial. A questionnaire-based study of 107 children with SD (age 6–16y) in Sweden and Norway examined aspects of treatment for neurogenic bowel dysfunction focusing on incontinence, independence, general satisfaction and quality of life. It was found that transanal irrigation (TAI) and antegrade colonic enemas (ACE) are effective treatments, but are time-consuming and difficult to perform independently. The majority of children using TAI (72%) and ACE (63%) never went to the toilet alone to empty their bowels. As children achieving independence on the toilet reported higher quality of life, efforts to support independence are beneficial. Continent, self-managing children with healthy kidneys enjoy high quality of life and contribute more fully to society. Therefore, further research is required to investigate and develop existing and new technologies and methods that mitigate the problems related to SD, and to make them accessible to all children with spinal dysraphism. Under de senaste 50 åren har det skett en enastående utveckling av möjligheterna för barn som föds med ryggmärgsbråck. Tidigare har majoriteten av barn med ryggmärgsbråck avlidit redan som spädbarn men idag överlever de flesta till vuxen ålder. Utan aktiva insatser och uppföljning är dock risken för medicinska problem och allvarlig påverkan på livet mycket stor. Nu när nästan alla barn överlever ligger fokus på att också nå okad livskvalitet och självständighet för personer med ryggmärgsbråck. Nästan alla med ryggmärgsbråck måste hantera en allvarlig påverkan på blåsan och tarmen med risk för njurskador, inkontinens och förstoppning. I avhandlingens två första studier värderade vi en metod att, med minimalt obehag för barnet, bedöma blåsfunktionen. Detta för att kunna skilja ut de barn som behöver genomgå mer avancerade undersökningar och få hjälp med blåstömningen genom täta tappningar med kateter, sa kallad ren intermittent kateterisering, RIK. När vi jämförde resultatet av testet för 50 nyfödda med ryggmärgsbråck med samma undersökning av 50 friska nyfödda fann vi stora skillnader. Mest tydligt var att de flesta nyfödda med ryggmärgsbråck (69%) men inga friska nyfödda läckte urin när man tryckte över blåsan. Av nyfödda med ryggmärgsbråck kissade de flesta (74%) inte med stråle vilket alla friska nyfödda gjorde. Att inte kissa med stråle talade också starkt för att barnet skulle komma att behöva hjälp med RIK för att tomma blåsan vid ett ars ålder, och då sannolikt livet ut. Sammantaget visade avhandlingens två första arbeten att den metod för bedömning av blåsfunktion vi undersökt kan användas för att styra uppföljning och behandling av nyfödda med ryggmärgsbråck. Avhandlingens tredje studie visade att aktiv uppföljning av barnen enligt ett nationellt vårdprogram lyckades förhindra njurskador hos de flesta, men att höga tryck i urinblåsan och återkommande urinvägsinfektioner ökade risken för skador. Även familjernas förmåga att i en pressad vardag klara av att genomföra de ofta krävande behandlingar och undersökningar som rekommenderas verkade vara viktig för att förhindra njurskador. Stöttning av familjerna är därför viktig. Avhandlingens fjärde arbete berörde tarmen som nästan alltid är påverkad vid ryggmärgsbråck, med risk för svår förstoppning och avföringsläckage. Detta har påtaglig påverkan på barnen och deras familjer. En tredjedel av de 107 familjerna i vår enkätundersökning i Sverige och Norge (barn 6-16 år) beskrev att man fått avstå från aktiviteter såsom resor på grund av barnets tarmproblem och de barn som hade avföringsläckage rapporterade tydligt lägre livskvalitet än andra. Trots denna allvarliga påverkan finns det hittills inga studier som jämför de olika behandlingar som barnet kan använda. I vår enkät kartlade vi därför vilka metoder som användes och hur bra de fungerade. Vi ställde frågor till både barn och föräldrar, särskilt om avföringsläckage, hur nöjd man var med metoden, barnens livskvalitet och självständighet på toaletten. Det var utifrån svaren tydligt att båda de vanligaste typerna av tarmsköljning var effektiva men tidskrävande och svara för barn och ungdomar att klara att utföra på egen hand. Ingen metod visade sig överlägsen den andra men de barn som klarade att skota tarmtomningen själva skattade sin livskvalitet klart högre än övriga. Vi drar därför slutsatsen att det är viktigt att vårdpersonal diskuterar de olika behandlingsalternativen med barn och föräldrar, och tillsammans med dem väljer den metod som passar det enskilda barnet bäst. Då skapas bästa förutsättningar för att gemensamt arbeta vidare för att uppnå största möjliga självständighet. Självständiga individer, med friska njurar och utan urin- och avföringsinkontinens upplever högre livskvalitet och behöver mindre sjukvård och andra samhällsinsatser. Det behövs mer forskning för att utveckla existerande och nya metoder att hantera de allvarliga komplikationer som riskerar att drabba barn och vuxna med ryggmärgsbråck.

Why is this happening? Why him? Why us? I can't count the number of times those words echoed through my mind over the course of the summer of 2017. There is no more powerless feeling for a parent than being forced to watch as their child battles for his health & well being. At my wife's 20 week ultrasound, we expected to learn the sex of our second munchkin, but instead our world was crumbled. Words like Spina Bifida, Arnold Chiari Malformation, Myelomeningocele & Hydrocephalus destroyed the excitement we held and replaced it with more uncertainty than we knew existed. The next weeks & months were a whirlwind as we met with specialists and flew across the country so that my wife could undergo fetal surgery to close the opening in my son's back, as well as give him the best chance for a life of worthwhile quality. We would remain there for 4 months, away from our oldest son & our home. Our little Loxley Poet had our hearts from the beginning, so it was never a question as to if we would do all in our power to give him the best chance. It was only a matter of how and when? The amazing people in our lives, our friends & family, made sure we had everything we needed, support in all shapes and sizes. Our journey being what it was, I decided that I could look at it as a burden or as an opportunity. Instead of asking ourselves 'why, ' perhaps we should have been asking ourselves, 'why not?' So, thats what we did. We would handle this and we would thrive, because thats what families do. That's how we survive. That's how we live. This book is for my little warrior, all of his twice born brothers & sisters, as well as their selfless families willing to sacrifice some so that their children may have it all.

The aim of this book to promote a multidisciplinary approach to Spina Bifida, providing the three main specialists categories involved – neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeons, and urologists – with a concise reference that explains the main clinical problems to be faced in everyday clinical practice. The book also provides the busy specialist with an updated overview of surgical approaches.