Cole was born with a severe form of spina bifida, hydrocephalus and Chiari malformation. He had his first surgery 45 minutes after he was born to close an opening that exposed his spinal cord and nerves. Cole had a second surgery that same day to place a shunt in his brain to drain spinal fluid.
Dr. Rosemaria Gennuso, a pediatric neurosurgeon with Pediatric Specialists of Texas, was involved in Cole' s care before he was even born. “She' s great. We met at 30 weeks gestation and she walked us through every step of the process and since then she has handled everything,” says Susan.
Although Cole' s condition when he was born was not what they were expecting, Susan says they had total confidence in Dr. Gennuso. “She instills trust and commands authority—she just has that aura of ‘I' m here to help these children.' Whenever we had to go back to the hospital for another surgery, we could be calm and at peace…because we knew she was there.”
Susan says although Cole now needs to see Dr. Gennuso only once a year, they think about her all the time. “Our whole family—me, my husband, my parents, even Cole—we pray for Dr. Gennuso and her family every single day.”
Pediatric Specialists of Texas' Pediatric Neurosurgery physicians, Dr. Gennuso and Dr. Megahed, provide comprehensive, interdisciplinary care specializing in the surgical treatment of brain and spinal disorders in children from the prenatal period to late adolescence.