LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A local girl and her father are preparing to travel to California for major surgery.
Aaliyah Dickerson, 7, is in the 2nd grade. She loves to dance and have a good time, but a rare condition called congenital kyphosis has slowed her fun down.
Congenital kyphosis is a rare and devastating deformity of the spine. It causes the spine to curve forward, creates pain, difficulty walking, and it can even lead to neurological problems.
“From birth, she’s lost her ability to walk twice,” her father Jermaine Dickerson explained.
It’s been a long journey for Aaliyah after years of physical therapy and trips to the doctor’s office, her father recently got some news that no parent wants to hear.
“Now, they’re saying if she doesn’t have surgery, she can end up paralyzed if she falls or trips,” he said.
Her condition is worsening and she needs to have major surgery called spinal fusion.
“I don’t want her to get the surgery but I know she needs it,” her father said.
Aaliyah knows the date of her scheduled surgery by heart and while her father is nervous about the procedure, little Aaliyah seems to know just what to say to comfort him.
“I’d like to say because I just love you so much,” Aaliyah told her father.
Aaliyah’s surgery is scheduled at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Sacramento, CA. on Nov. 14th.
Insurance is covering her procedure but her father and family will likely spend more than one month in California while she recovers and is monitored.
To help with some of those travel expenses her father set up a Go-Fund-Me page, you can follow this link if you’d like to help.
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