Tonight on Action 2 News: Max’s journey from spina bifida to healthy baby boy

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Mallorie and Chris DeRuyter are celebrating three months with their little boy Max. Their journey included some difficult decisions and the work of highly skilled doctors.

At 20 weeks, Mallorie and Chris went in for an ultrasound. They discovered their baby boy had spina bifida. His spine did not close properly and part of it was outside his body.

“The disease itself is not curable. Spina bifida is not curable, but the closure has to be done regardless,” says Mallorie DeRuyter.

Chris DeRuyter says, “Once we found out that he had that, we knew we wanted to do whatever was best for him. It was always worrying about him and what can we do that can help give him the best chance of success.”

The DeRuyters found answers at the Chicago Institute for Fetal Health at Lurie’s Hospital. They learned about a new option to repair Max’s spine. It’s revolutionary and had never been done at the hospital.

Watch the video of Sarah Thomsen’s six-minute report above. CLICK HERE to read the complete story of Max and his surgery.

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