Dr. Hudgins Quotations

She will definitely need to be in a wheelchair.

She's as personable as any 3-month-old I've ever seen. She'll grab your finger. She coos and does all the right things.

She just radiates good feeling. We're getting to the point where we love this child.

She is very strong because her family is strong.

Obviously, good works happen in Iraq every day. And good works happen with the soldiers. We hear all of the negative. It's about time we had the opportunity to hear some of the good.

Our best scenario is that she will be a paraplegic.

We need to get the back closed. The concern here is meningitis. If the baby gets an infection on the back, that infection can spread to the coverings all over the brain and the baby may die, so time is of the essence.

Quality of life is very important, but if we don't get rid of this defect, it will eventually take her life as well.

The back actually looks very, very good. She's doing everything that a well-loved 4-month-old baby should be doing. You pick her up and hold her and the smile comes out.

I'm thoroughly amazed at how bright and alert she is.

The longer we go without putting a shunt in, the less likely she'll need one. We're cautiously optimistic.