TYLER, Texas — In January, Allie Martinez gave birth to her daughter Amari. While little Amari was still in the womb, doctors told Allie the baby had spina bifida, a birth defect where the spinal cord and spine do not completely form.
Each year, more than 1,600 babies are born with spina bifida, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Allie underwent surgery before her daughter's birth in an effort to remedy the effects of the disorder.
"I expected the worst when I was pregnant, and even when she was born, I didn't really know what to expect, but it's easy," Allie said.
"We're grateful for that."
Nearly 10 months later, while Allie, and her husband Dakota, have had some troubles. However, Amari has made steady improvement.
"We do MRIs every three months then urologist. We were doing catheters every 12 hours, but now we've stopped because the ultrasound and everything seems to be going good," Allie explained. "So no more catheters for now unless something changes."
While some children with the disorder can experience a number of issues like fluid build-up in the brain, Allie says Amari has not had to deal with any major problems.
"She has feeling too so she'll move her feet," Allie said. "Her chances of walking are pretty good given where, I guess, her lesion was. But everything seems to be going good. She looks great!"
The biggest challenge for the parents has been Amari's physical therapy.
"We are doing physical therapy to help her learn how to crawl and hopefully eventually walk as well," Allie said.
Since the diagnosis, the journey for Allie and Dakota Martinez has been long and emotional. However, Allie says she is grateful for everything so far and would not change anything.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Allie said. "She's perfect."