Hello. My name is Monica Davis. I am also known as Aunt Mo to my many nieces, nephews, Great Nieces and Nephew. This Go Fund Me is being conducted on behalf of one of my nieces, Halie, her husband, Chad, and one of their precious girls, Whitley, age 6.
The SDR Surgery
In one month, on January 12th, 2026, Whitley Is going to have a rather complex surgery at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, AL. She will undergo an operation known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR). SDR is a surgical procedure that reduces spasticity (muscle stiffness) in the legs. It is most commonly performed on children with Cerebral Palsy. This complex surgery could last anywhere from 3 to 4.5 hours. During the surgery, Whitley’s neurosurgeon will make an incision into her lower spine to access her sensory nerve roots. When the nerve roots have been located, the surgeon will then selectively cut the nerves contributing to Whitley’s muscle stiffness, and then close her incision. This surgery is invasive, and her post-surgery/recovery time will be extremely crucial. Following the SDR, Whitley’s nervous system will require time to rewire itself. This rewiring of her nerves’ pathways will have lasting, long-term benefits for Whitley, and it will most likely improve her everyday physical strength, balance, and mobility.
Recovery Road
Whitley’s three phases of post-op and recovery are going to be extremely crucial to the success of her SDR procedure. Phase One of post surgery will last for one month at Children’s Hospital. Then, once she is discharged from Children’s, she will begin Phase Two. This phase will require Whitley to stay in Birmingham for an additional two weeks in order to continue her necessary daily physical therapy sessions that will consist of multiple sessions per day, and each one could last anywhere from 3 to 4 hours. Once she completes her six weeks post-op/recovery/therapy time in Birmingham, Whitley will return home to Hartselle, AL, and immediately begin Phase Three, the longest phase of her recovery process. Phase Three will require Whitley to partake in more physical therapy sessions (4 -5 times per week). Her success with this phase will actually determine the duration of it, but this one could last anywhere from six months to a year.
GoFundMe Goals
So as you can tell, Whitley has a rather rigorous road ahead of her. Her parents and older sister do as well. Whitley’s dad is a firefighter for Fultondale Fire and Rescue. Her mother is a nurse, and works for a medical office in Huntsville. Her older sister is an extremely active student athlete in Hartselle. This surgery and long recovery will have an obvious impact on Whitley’s parents’ career commutes and work schedules. The shift in daily living routines will be a new and challenging change added to the expected emotional stressors associated with such an invasive medical procedure. In addition to the emotional strain, this surgery and extended recovery period are creating financial strains and stressors for the already worried family.
This GoFundMe is being created to help cover many costs and expenses associated with Whitley’s SDR. Any money raised from this GoFundMe will help to cover costs of medications, therapies, travel, food, any associated medical fees/potential physician payments, and supplement the loss of Halie’s income since she will have to schedule time off during Whitley’s 6 week Hospital and Post-Op Recovery Stay. She and her husband will also have to schedule more time off and do so in tag team shifts to manage the many therapies in Whitley’s upcoming year.
Any donation contributed towards this GoFundMe will be GREATLY appreciated. Any amount given will make a BIG difference in the lives of these two protective parents and their two gorgeous girls. Your kindness and generosity will relieve some of their parent stress and aid two parents who have managed their baby girl’s physical obstacles and battles like championship coaches. They have sought out every possible solution and therapeutic relief for Whitley, and they have watched her fight discomfort and pain for six straight years.
Ready to Run
Sweet “Itty-Bitty” is ready for this SDR. She is sad to miss school, her Kindergarten teachers, her Kindergarten classmates, and her friends, but she is ready for the chance to “Get Better: Gain Balance and Move More”. She dreams of being able to keep up with her peers, play more sports, and compete in these sports like her big sister and all the other kids.
Please continue to read the rest of this bio/intro to learn more about my grand-niece, the one I describe as a little fierce firecracker; my Whit with GRIT, our “Itty-Bitty”, the one that has been pouring extreme amounts of effort into all she has learned to do since her premature birth.
Whitley’s Story to Stand & Walk
Whitley was born at 31 weeks with a Grade 0 Brain Bleed. At that time, monitoring her for developmental delays was the biggest concern after she was discharged from the NICU.
When Whitley was 18 months old, she was given the diagnosis of Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy. This diagnosis was determined after many months of visits with physicians and therapists. At 9 months, it was noted that Whitley had been missing many of her physical/motor milestones such as rolling over, sitting up, and crawling. At 9 months, it was noted that she was only using one hand to reach for objects. This is when she started an early intervention therapy program . At that time, an interventionist would conduct home therapy sessions with Whitley. The goal for these in-home sessions was to promote more motion and function with her arms. Three months later, Whitley started attending an outpatient physical therapy program in addition to her in-home intervention sessions. This additional therapy was needed, because at 12 months, Whitley was only using her right arm for tasks such as reaching, playing, and eating. The use of only one arm was making crawling difficult, and Whitley still wasn’t sitting upright very well on her own. Two months after Whitley began her dual therapy sessions, she mastered her own unique way to crawl, and at 14 months, she finally began to pull up on items in an attempt to stand up, but her toes kept curling under her feet, so this caused her to stand on her tip-toes. Whitley never mastered the developmental trait of balancing her body. Two months after she began pulling up to stand, Whitley was evaluated at Children’s Hospital for Physical Therapy, Rehab Medicine. It was at this visit she received her first set of AFO braces for her legs.
From the very first time she wore her AFO braces, she began taking her first few independent steps. She was taking steps behind a walking toy with no human assistance. At this time, Whitley began taking a daily muscle relaxer. Then, at 18 months, Whitley had an MRI conducted on her brain, and this is when her neurologist made the diagnosis that she had a mild form of Cerebral Palsy (CP). Whitley’s parents, Chad and Halie, were told that her CP would never get worse, but the only way for her to improve her mobility was to continue the physical therapy she had already been doing.
Once the diagnosis was made, Whitley began traveling from Madison, AL, to Birmingham, AL twice a week for more physical therapy sessions at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. In addition to her visits to Birmingham, Whitley also began an early in-home intervention therapy program that required her attendance at scheduled sessions two times per month.
The main goal of in-home intervention and PT sessions was to assist Whitley with gaining the strength, balance, and coordination to stand and walk with no assistance. To meet this goal, she started using a walker that allowed her to develop her gait. She only used this walker for a limited time, and by age 2.5, she finally took her first independent steps and began to walk with no assistance.
Shortly after Whitley began to walk with no human assistance or supportive walking devices, she started to receive her first set of Botox injections,. These injections required Whitley to wear bilateral casts for six weeks. These Botox-Cast treatments were administered and used in attempts to help her muscles stretch, loosen, and relax since her form of CP caused her muscles to be extremely tight.
The therapy sessions continued with noticeable improvements. Even though improvements were being made, Whitley was still not meeting the typical age development milestones. She was noticeably behind her peers as to what children her age should be able to physically do at this stage and age of her growth and development.
Around the time Whitley was four, she had another round of Botox Injections with another casting treatment for six more weeks. At this time, she was beginning Pre-K. This led to the decision to halt outpatient therapy since Whitley could now receive both PT and OT from the school she would be attending. She was able to maneuver around the classroom, but transitioning to other places within and around the school was very difficult for Whitley. She really struggled to access and use the school’s playground. The resolution for her struggle to transition to places that required longer walks was to have Whitley’s teachers push her to various locations around the campus using a stroller. Whitley’s school physical therapist suggested that Whitley needed to add outpatient PT back to her therapy schedule since she was not progressing and appeared to have her muscles revert to more tightness and stiffness.
Therefore, outpatient therapy was added, and Whitley was able to receive the Botox injections without the casting. Whitley was able to withstand the in-office Botox shots, and she was able to benefit from the stretch it provided to her muscles.
Around this same time, in September 2023, Whitley qualified for a service animal. She had always had a strong fear of dogs, but when she met her service dog, her fear transitioned to fondness, and there was an immediate bond between Whitley and Mattie. Whitley chose the name Mattie for her new furry friend in honor of her love for the Atlanta Braves and her favorite player, Matt Olsen, the Braves’ First Baseman.
So from this point, forward, Whitley’s day-to-day life in Pre-K continued to be daily adjustments of maneuvering around from place to place around her home, school, ballparks, and gyms, trying her absolute best to keep up with her classmates, friends, and her older sister that is always surrounded by her many teammates and their families.
I must share that Whitley has ALWAYS assumed that she is one of the members of any team that her sister has been a part of, and she has always taken an active role in helping these teams. She has always pushed herself to keep up with all of the very active and athletic groups of girls. The most precious part of her will to do as they do is that Whitley’s sister and all these many teammates have “adopted” her onto their teams. They want her to wear team gear, chant the chants, earn the rings and medals, experience the competitive and victorious vibes, etc…
The time Whitley has spent with her sister and these loving, supporting teammates has fostered an adorable adoration for sports. Whitley enjoys watching many sports, especially softball, and this is why she was eager to join The Miracle League and compete on a field with peers and players that benefit from playing on an adaptive field with modified rules that accommodate their physical disabilities. She also enjoys playing basketball, dancing, and swimming. Swimming is one of her favorite activities, and it is actually very therapeutic for her, since it is a great method of movement that eases and relaxes her rigid muscles.
It was this past summer when Whitley attended one of her appointments with her Rehab Medicine physician, and the SDR surgery was mentioned to Whitley’s parents. Neither of them had any knowledge of this procedure, but their doctor thought that Whitley would be an ideal candidate for it, and the doctor also believed that Whitley would have effects as promising as obtaining a normal gait with balanced and steady movements.
Both of Whitley’s parents prayerfully processed this suggestion of SDR, had many discussions with one another, interviewed other families that had loved ones benefit from the SDR, and conducted many hours of research before making the decision to proceed with this surgery. The surgical consult with an occupational therapist was conducted, and it was a consult with almost perfect results and positive news. It was determined that Whitley was a perfect candidate for the SDR, and the medical team anticipates that after the procedure and recovery, Whitley should have a noticeable difference ( a 180) in her physical mobility.
So as you can tell, Whitley is one incredible little lady, and she was born to win! Please consider donating to her physical wellness fight, and let’s all watch her win this match against CP.
She is definitely one of a kind, but she is also such a loving, funny, smart, kind, curious, creative, sassy six year old ball of energy. I am hopeful that my attempt at launching this GoFundMe speaks a meaningful message on her behalf, and on the behalf of her family and friends who have all had our hearts stolen by our beautiful bold, brave “Bitty”. Any help provided will be greatly appreciated. I now speak for myself and her family as I write Thank You; Thank You for the love; Thank You for the prayers; and Thank You for your generosity.
