Holly Springs girl featured in book

A Holly Springs girl who had fetal surgery to correct spina bifida to lead a normal life gets a happy surprise

Anna Williamson has grown into such a normal little girl it almost takes a big production to remind others that she's a miracle child.

Anna, 8, has lived with spina bifida, a birth defect that typically results in paralysis and other complications. But she has almost no hint of such problems. She walks, runs, swims and rides a bike without training wheels.

Her parents, Susan and Jason Williamson of Holly Springs, credit Anna's success to a radical surgery she underwent at Vanderbilt University, in which the opening on Anna's spinal column was sewn closed while she was still a developing fetus. The family's medical odyssey was chronicled in a four-part series in The News & Observer in 2000.

Now, Anna is again in the limelight -- this time featured as one of 12 children from around the world who are being included in the book, "12 Heroes Among Us." Singer Celine Dion has undertaken the book to raise money for a hospital in Montreal. Anna was chosen as the cover for the book, pictured with Dion. It will be available in Canada on Tuesday, and a September publication is hoped for in the United States.

"These children's stories are incredible," said Susan Williamson, referring to those selected for the project. "It's very emotional to think about the things these children have survived."

Nominated by Reader's Digest editors who had originally published stories of the children's ordeals, participants included survivors of child abuse, Hurricane Katrina, the Indonesian tsunami, violence and health complications. About 30 children were initially considered, and organizers whittled the number to 12. Anna, whose story was picked up by Reader's Digest after The N&O series, was an early favorite for inclusion.

"The children had to have a big drama, but had to be healthy," said Martyne Huot, general director of Today's Family Network, a Canadian nonprofit group that organized the event as its annual fundraiser with Dion. This year, proceeds will benefit Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal; The Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto; and UNICEF. Additional money will be raised with greeting cards and a calendar featuring the children.

Anna's big drama involved a huge risk. The Williamsons chose to try the fetal surgery at Vanderbilt, in Nashville, Tenn., in the hope that closing the gaping hole in Anna's spinal column would spare her weeks and months of damage as she developed in the womb. The goal was to give her a better chance of avoiding paralysis, bladder and bowel problems and other complications that typically accompany the condition.

The operation involved cutting open Susan's abdomen and repairing the lesion, then hoping the pregnancy would continue. In the worst outcomes of the surgery, pregnancies were lost.

Anna, off and running

Susan carried Anna for another three months, delivering the girl five weeks prematurely by Caesarean section at UNC Hospitals. From her first moments, Anna had remarkably few complications. Her feet turned inward but were corrected with braces and physical therapy. She was potty trained at 3 and shed her braces well before starting kindergarten.

Meanwhile, doctors cautioned Susan Williamson about subsequent pregnancies, because her uterus was badly scarred from the two surgeries while carrying Anna. But the Williamsons, deeply religious and dedicated to creating the tight family bonds they had cherished in their own childhoods, decided to try. Along came Patrick, now 5; Lily, 3; and Jack, almost 2.

"Jack was a surprise," Susan Williamson said.

None of Anna's siblings have spina bifida -- a disease that can run in families. In other cases, it can be prevented with the nutrient folic acid.