Emily

Everything was outside, so they couldn't determine if I was a male or female.

Shortly after birth, I was transported to a children's hospital where they put it back in and stabilized me.

And when you're four years old, maybe a little earlier, your parents are starting to think about potty training you and achieving continence, something that with bladder extra V kids is pretty tough.

There are specialists out at Johns Hopkins in Maryland who

Where my mom did a lot of research and that's where the best surgeon was.

So we traveled out to Johns Hopkins when I was four years old and got ready for what's called a bladder neck reconstruction.

So basically what that is, is kids with extra fee, they're born, their hips are too wide.

So what they do is they break your hips.

Push them back together and then secure them with steel pins.

So your bladder is supported and you're laying on your back for about eight weeks.

You have to lay flat and your legs are in traction for a good amount of time.

So they're up in the air above your body.

In Baltimore, you know, I'm a four-year-old with my mom.

I was in a wagon the majority of the time, just laying flat in a Fisher-Price wagon.

My mom and I had to find some fun things to do.

Our surgeon said, hey, there's a mom and another little boy about her age here.

He just got the same surgery a few days before her.

Yeah, girls and boys can have it.

Boys have it a little bit tougher than girls, just from a complication perspective.

So we met these wonderful people, became friends, spent our eight weeks together, went our separate ways.