5 minute read
Trussville girl named 2023 National Ambassador
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CANDICE AND JAMES MCCOOL
Living Like Logan
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Trussville’s Logan McCool shows others that spina bifida doesn’t stop her from making the most of her one big life.
BY STEPHANIE GIBSON LEPORE
Trussville kindergartner Logan McCool is living with spina bifida, but her diagnosis doesn’t define her, and its subsequent challenges haven’t slowed down the determined six-year-old at all. Thanks to her fighting spirit, buoyed by parents who encourage her every step of the way, she is a typical kid doing typical kid things—along with some extraordinary things, too.
Spina bifida is a type of neural tube defect (NTD) that can occur anywhere along the spine where the neural tube does not close all the way. When this happens, the backbone that protects the spinal cord doesn’t form and close correctly, resulting in damage to the spinal cord and nerves.
“Logan was diagnosed in utero at our 17-
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week anatomy ultrasound,” says her mom, ER nurse, pageant coach, and fitness instructor Candice McCool. Dad James is a police officer and owner of Content Enthusiasts media company. (He uses his tech savvy to run his daughter’s YouTube channel as well.) “She has the most severe kind, called myelomeningocele, which means there was an opening in her lower back exposing her spinal nerves.”
She was whisked away to the OR the day after she was born in 2016 to have her opening surgically closed, but the damage to her exposed nerves left her paralyzed from the waist down. “She is a full-time wheelchair user,” Candice explains. “She has other medical complications related to her spina bifida diagnosis, but she has no cognitive deficits.” The six-year-old is like everyone else her age in most ways: She is currently in kindergarten. She can read and write. She loves math and science. She adores animals and has a cat and a dog at home. “She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She’s a typical kid in every way except for how she ambulates [gets around].”
She’s also different from other kids her age in some special ways, too. After spending a month in the NICU of Children’s Hospital for multiple brain and back surgeries, Logan was nominated at three years old to be a “Superhero,” which honors the hospital’s NICU with “The Power of Children’s” initiative sponsored by Books-A-Million. For more than five years now, the Birminghambased book retailer has partnered with the hospital to celebrate “Superhero Month” each October. Events include a private superhero meet-and-greet, capes and masks for all patients, special parties, and arts and crafts activities to encourage kids to be silly and have fun even in the face of their medical challenges. (You’ve probably even seen Captain America or Spider-Man washing windows at Children’s of Alabama, a highlight of the month both outside and inside the hospital.)
“From there, she was chosen to be a Children’s of Alabama ambassador the next year, and then she was chosen the following
Q&A: GET TO KNOW LOGAN
What is your favorite activity/hobby?
“My favorite thing to do is karate because I get to do new things; not like everyone else because I have weak legs, but I get to do them in my own way.”
What are you most excited about
being an ambassador this year? “I am excited about going on another flight and playing with the other kids again!”
What is your favorite snack, toy, TV
show, and part of school? “Cheez-Its; coloring books, “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” playing outside.”
What did you think about your first
plane ride recently (to Utah)? “I liked it. I liked seeing all of the clouds.”
Current favorite thing to cook? (Logan is known among friends and family for being a big baker who loves to share her creations!) “Hot chocolate bombs.”
What is your favorite song? “Trap remixes of kid songs.” (“She and her dad dance to these during her bedtime routine,” says Candice.)
year by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) to represent the state of Alabama as a champion,” says Candice. CMN is a nonprofit that raises funds for 170 hospital partners throughout the United States. Their donations go toward research, medical equipment, financial assistance, and meeting needs of patients, Candice explains. “CMN recently selected Logan from all the state champions to be one of 10 kids to serve as a CMN 2023 National Champion.”
In her new role, Logan will travel to various fundraising events around the country, putting a face to the cause and sharing her story to show others how Children’s of Alabama helps
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her “live life to the fullest.”
And full her life is. In the beginning, she attended physical, occupational, feeding, and speech therapies. To be sure someone is always home with Logan and able to transport her to various therapy appointments and activities, Candice and James arranged their work schedules so that James works during the week while Candice is at home; Candice works weekend shifts while James takes over weekend parenting. “She has progressed so much that she now only receives PT and OT while she’s in school and no longer requires outpatient therapy at this time,” says Candice. That leaves extra time for the things she loves, like taking horseback riding lessons at The Red Barn, helping to strengthen her core; enrolling in karate classes with adaptive movements; taking ballet, swim lessons at Lakeshore Rehab, and playing T-ball through the Miracle League. She’s also a model for The Forward Agency in Atlanta, and she has been featured in ads for Carter’s and in a commercial on Cartoon Network.
“At school, she has mastered two of her three OT goals already, meaning she can spend more time in the classroom with her peers, which is so important!” says Candice. “She is currently working on wheelchair maneuvers, core strength, and adapting classroom activities with her physical therapist at school.”
Candice and James have coined the phrase “Live Like Logan” to more or less brand her adventures as well as inspire others to live life to the fullest, despite challenges. “We have always encouraged Logan to be as independent as possible,” says Candice. “We do not let her use her physical disability as an excuse to not get involved with activities. We help her find her own way of doing things so she can participate and reach her fullest potential.”
You can follow Logan’s adventures at facebook.com/ UpliftingLogan and on her YouTube channel at youtube.com/@livelikelogan.
DENTISTRY FOR INFANTS, CHILDREN, TEENS, AND THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
