Kids Coach - Wade Ricks - Mississippi State

Kid Coach is a partnership between Children's of Mississippi and the Mississippi State Bulldogs to salute pediatric patients. Their inspirational stories remind us just how truly courageous these young people are.

This week's Children's of Mississippi Kid Coach is Wade Ricks of Carrollton, MS.

At his four-month wellness checkup, Wade's pediatrician was concerned about a ridge on his head and sent Wade for an MRI right away. The test revealed a congenital skull condition called sagittal craniosynostosis.

Normally, an infant's head has spaces between the bones of the skull filled with flexible material that allows the skull to expand as the baby's brain grows. By age two, the skull closes as the bones fuse together. With Wade's condition, that fusion had happened prematurely at two places in his skull.

Wade came to the Craniofacial Team at Children's of Mississippi for treatment and had cranial surgery two weeks later at the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower. His pediatric neurosurgeon removed the fused bone to allow the brain to expand. A second surgery came later when Wade was 9 months old.

Now two years old, Wade is doing great! His care teams at Children's of Mississippi continue to watch his progress, including yearly check-ups for ophthalmology and neurology.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Kids Coach - Wade Ricks

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