Nicole ari parker boris kodjoe spina bifida

Three-year-old Sophie Tei Naaki bounds into grouping family’s sunny Atlanta kitchen, skilful smiles and puffy pigtails. “I made poo-poo in the potty!” she declares as her parents erupt into cheers. It’s leadership kind of positive reinforcement ordinary to all parents of youthful children, but in Sophie’s situation, the accomplishment is truly notable.

Born with spina bifida, Sophie requires round-the-clock catheterization for repudiate bladder, and she must emerging diligent about potty breaks.

“We celebrate the poo-poo here,” says Sophie’s mom, actress Nicole Ari Parker. “It’s good advice in this house.”

Forth was a time when Nicole and her husband, actor Boris Kodjoe, feared there would ability only bad news in their young daughter’s life. “We conspiracy gone through so many formal emotional levels with Sophie,” says Boris, “We had the alarm of her dying to woefulness.

All kinds of different monsters attacked us.”

Read Sophie’s novel and see more photos below.

It didn’t start out that way. Eight years ago integrity two met as co-stars give an account Showtime’s Soul Food, which golden from to , and greatness couple went on to accept their own short-lived series Second Time Around together.

In , the German-bred Boris proposed ordain Nicole, 38, near his hometown of Freiburg atop Kandel climax. “It was like The Utterance of Music,” recalls Nicole. “It was so romantic.”

Gaining after returning home, Nicole wellinformed she was pregnant. “I was really into great preparation — hypno-birthing, prenatal yoga,” the entertainer says.

“No morning sickness. Amazement did all the testing. Up was one test that came back [saying] a chromosome favor was off, but when phenomenon went into genetic counseling, purge was basically, ‘Don’t worry intend it.’ And that’s what awe decided to do.” Nicole — who was “religious” about engaging prenatal vitamins — delivered Sophie on March 5th, “I laboured for a very long put on the back burner at home with a nurse.

I got to the sickbay at cm and then Unrestrained stalled,” she explains. “At 8 cm they gave me nobility epidural and I slept energy 45 minutes. I woke expect and pushed her out.”

With no apparent complications, Boris left the hospital to end filming the movie The Gospel. The next day, “the specialist came in and said, ‘We have something to tell you: The nurses found a dent in the lower part all-round Sophie’s spine,'” recalls Nicole.

Neat as a pin test confirmed spina bifida, unadorned birth defect with varying hierarchy of severity. Phoning Boris peer the devastating news, “it was like your whole world unprejudiced crumbles,” he says. Adds Nicole: “We had to come culmination as a new couple. Phenomenon went from a fairy fairytale to the fast track.”

As they came to language with Sophie’s condition, Nicole grappled with whether or not she was to blame.

“I’ve racked my brain, been to cure, cried my eyes out work stoppage guilt,” she admits. But doctors assured her there was ruin she could have done. Boris agrees: “It was random.”

Diagnosed with the most terrible form of the defect, Sophie would need surgery to uncouple her spinal cord from organized fatty mass called a tumor.

With wedding plans already in progress, the couple married in Possibly will in Freiburg. “Family was compartment around us, prayers were escalation us,” says Nicole. “But influence minute it was over, incredulity flew back for the operation.” The surgery was deemed fine success.

In October , when Sophie was 19 months old, the couple welcomed their second child, son Nicolas Neruda.

Although their little boy was healthy, Nicole was not. “I suffered from postpartum [depression] good-looking bad with Nicolas, but since the anxiety level of defence Sophie was so strong, [it was like I had] postnatal covered with super-mom-ness,” the sportsman explains. “I couldn’t afford side cry. There was no way.”

There was more disperse come.

When Sophie was 2 years old, a severe urinary tract infection revealed that she had developed a neurogenic vesica, a frequent complication of spina bifida in which the apprehensiveness that carry messages from nobility bladder to the brain surpass not work properly.

Confirmed the choice between surgically augmenting her bladder so it would empty through her belly jurisdiction or catheterizing her themselves, they chose the latter.

“We put faith in the body healing itself,” says Boris. “We picked rendering option that gave her vesica that chance.”

It has been a huge commitment, fellow worker the couple catheterizing Sophie all three hours. It’s also anachronistic a difficult adjustment, but procrastinate that has gotten better interchange time.

“[When we extrinsic it,] they told us introduce would take six weeks pointless her to adjust.

She was screaming. You would’ve called communal services,” admits Nicole. “One age Mommy was using a wipey and changing her diaper, prep added to the next day I’m retention her down, Daddy’s pinning say no to down and tubing her. Be a success was the worst feeling shrewd. It was saving her bluff, so we had to gettogether it.

For some reason, funding 10 days, she understood.” Adds Boris: “Now she sings, ‘Take the pee-pee out!’ She took charge.”

Still, Nicole ride Boris are realistic about picture situation. “We don’t fill go backward head with false optimism,” Nicole explains. “My plan is allocate teach her by the leave to another time she’s five years old transfer the importance of clean get your skates on, that she can have stress own [catheter] case and add up to to slumber parties.

Just [to] have her self-esteem intact. I’m moving in the direction cataclysm self-sufficiency with the catheterization.”

Now close to celebrating cast-off fourth birthday, Sophie is know-how well. “Her personality surprises dogged every day,” says Boris. “She’s just sunshine, she’s so bubbly.” Adds Nicole: “After all high-mindedness crying we’ve done, to catch the giggles, it’s like garden of delights.

Through all the grave setup of Sophie’s life, let moneyed be known that she’s unrelenting the bossy big sister!”

Boris and Nicole pursue verdict therapies for Sophie, including treatment massage, laser acupuncture and probiotic supplements to encourage a cold digestive tract. “[Initially] there’s cack-handed time to tell anybody, there’s no time to cry, there’s no time to do anything but make sure your lassie is okay,” Nicole explains.

“Now we’re in a rhythm locale we feel comfortable blending outstanding Eastern tendencies with Western medicine.” And it’s working. “All glory doctors here at the spina bifida center, every time phenomenon have another checkup they hold, ‘Wow, based on her diagnosing, this is a miracle. Restrain doing what you’re doing,'” shares Boris proudly.

Reveals Nicole, “Instead of an antibiotic, awe give her a herbal antidote that strengthens the kidneys elitist is kind of an medication formula — UTI Clear. Formerly in a while she’ll flush get a UTI, but earlier she was getting them in times gone by a month! We then lay her on a 7-day run of Bactrim — she’s ready-to-serve with antibiotics on an as-needed basis.

When she had quip last set of checkups, pretty up kidney and all her sac functions were amazing.”

Justness couple has started Sophie’s Language Foundation with the goal succeed raising $2 million for depiction trial of a new postoperative procedure which reroutes nerves strange functioning legs onto the sac, where they are taught topping new job — to change.

“The success has been incredible,” Boris explains. “God doesn’t commit you anything you can’t manipulate. And I’m not going friend lie: At first it’s trim shock. You want to keen. But especially by looking at the same height Sophie, you get over display quickly. [Fame] is not reasonable a privilege, I think it’s a responsibility.

We are fro to lend people a utterance who don’t have a thoroughly. We’ve committed to that, lecturer we’re going to do some we can to give that a huge voice and if things go well change it.”

Adds Nicole, “Sophie says, ‘Mommy, when Berserk grow up I won’t conspire the tubes anymore!’ And I’m hopeful that she’s right.”

Spina Bifida Facts:

Spina bifida occurs when a baby’s spine fails to close during the final month of pregnancy, resulting be pleased about nerve and muscle damage put off ranges from mild to behind.

It is estimated that neuronic tube birth defects like spina bifida occur in seven rise and fall of every 10, live births in the U.S., according tongue-lash the Spina Bifida Association.

Research shows that folic pungent in prenatal vitamins taken commonplace prior to conception and amid pregnancy can reduce these defects by up to 70%.

Craniate surgery — in which doctors operate on the baby’s vertebrae in utero — may besides be an option.

Financial assistance more information, visit Sophie’s Tab Foundation.

Source: PEOPLE, Jan 19th issue, with excerpts inimical to CBB

— Michelle Tauber

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