Girl With Spina Bifida Receives A Surprise Before Her 48th Surgery

• Ryan Neighbor was born with spina bifida and has since undergone over 40 surgeries. 
• On Friday, she was scheduled for her 48th surgery but because of the pandemic, her loved ones couldn’t be with her physically. 
• So they looked for a way to see her through the glass window of her hospital room across the parking garage on the 9th floor!

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A young patient at a hospital in Louisville received the greatest surprise when her loved ones appeared on the hospital window to cheer her on before she went for her surgery. 

Ryan Neighbor, 11, has spina bifida and has since been undergoing more than 40 surgeries — last week Friday being her 48th. But her friends and families were restricted to see her inside Norton Children’s Hospital just before her operation. Amazingly, they found a way to surprise her and express their love and support from a distance with a glass window in between. 

They gathered in a parking lot on the 9th floor which was right across Ryan’s hospital room — and they could be seen through the glass window cheering, holding signs, balloons, and posters, to lift her spirits up and remind her that she has a lot of people who love her. 

“Before she goes into surgery she gets to see us and know there’s people behind her who need her to get well and want her to get well to get back on the stage and be Ryan again,” her friend, Hannah Robb, told WLKY, a CBS affiliate. 

Babies who are born with spina bifida have spinal cords not properly developed — this affects their intellectual and physical development which can range from mild to severe. 

In Ryan’s case, it resulted in multiple surgeries including that of last Friday which was a little difficult because for the first time, her loved ones couldn’t be with her physically due to the pandemic. 

But they just couldn’t let go of that so easily. So they arranged to still see her and give her support no matter what. 

“It doesn’t take a lot and what did we do today? We gave time. We all have time,” says De De Cox, a long-time family friend, who is also passionate in helping chronically ill kids. 

Ryan has been in the hospital for seven weeks now and after the surgery, her family hopes she will be able to finally go home and spend the holidays with them.

Source: PEOPLE