Birmingham, Alabama, is the largest city in the state of Alabama. According to the official website for Birmingham, www.informationbirmingham.com, the city is nestled at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at the cross-section of two major railroads. Once the primary industrial center of the southern United States, Birmingham grew so fast in population it was called the “Magic City.” In recent decades, Birmingham has become the foremost medical center of the south. That fact is why, for me, Birmingham is the Magic City for a much more personal reason.
At age eighteen I had my first child, Erica. Erica was born with a rare and permanently debilitating congenital defect called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. Few doctors had ever even seen a child with Arthrogryposis, much less had the daunting task of caring for one. Fortunately for me, my obstetrician, Dr. Lewis Letson, rushed my sweet baby girl to Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital, where she was eventually placed in the capable hands of Dr. Kurt Nieman. Dr. Nieman, willingly and for very little pay, embraced that daunting task. He and his team of orthopedic residents worked with Erica through serial casting, numerous surgeries, hideous braces, and endless hours of physical therapy until her precious arms and legs were no longer useless, gnarled limbs. It was Dr. Nieman who urged me to treat Erica like a normal little girl; otherwise she would certainly never be normal. Dr. Nieman and his
team never gave up and provided an endless source of hope and encouragement when other doctors informed me that I was looking for a miracle that I would not find.
For sixteen years Erica received the finest treatment available, allowing her to grow into a happy young woman with a bright future. For this, I owe the city of Birmingham and its brilliant physicians and medical facilities a tremendous debt of gratitude.
Birmingham is the Magic City, and I thank you with all my heart.