Callie enjoying our big snowstorm last month.

Callie is 8 today! She’s very excited about the big day, just like any 8-year-old would be.

Days like this remind us how normal our lives are, despite the time and effort Callie’s care requires. We have support from so many people — nurses, people who have given money, Hospice of the Piedmont, co-workers who generously prepare a meal for us every week.

We are grateful for this help because it helps Callie live a life that is not defined by her diagnosis. Life seems so normal that, sometimes, when someone asks how Callie is doing, it takes us a second to recall the details of her daily challenges.

This sense of normalcy has been disrupted over the past six weeks, ironically, by a piece of very good news. The FDA on Dec. 23 approved a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy. The drug, Spinraza, could be available for Callie this spring or early summer. Had this drug been available when Callie was younger, it might have rescued her from the devastating effects of SMA.

Now, though, SMA has twisted her spine. She has contractures, subluxations, almost no muscle mass. She is weaker and more vulnerable than ever. She can sit up for shorter time periods. She depends on her bi-pap machine for breathing support every day. This medicine has arrived too late to prevent these effects for Callie.

But her spirit is so strong, and we’ve learned not to underestimate Callie’s determination. So over the past few weeks, we have been considering whether this new treatment could help Callie even in small ways. We know it won’t reverse the damage SMA has done to her body. But could it help her stay in her power wheelchair longer, giving her more independence? Could it give her enough strength to sit up longer, which could enhance her quality of life by allowing her to interact more with friends and family?

Or would the treatment only slow the progression of her condition, requiring her to endure more pain with little or no benefit to her quality of life? There are no simple answers.

Next month we have an appointment with a neurologist, and we’re hoping he will provide some more information to help us determine whether this new treatment would be good for Callie.

Until then, she’ll celebrate her birthday with food from Barberito’s, one of her favorite restaurants, and a cake with a snowman family on it that Callie helped design. This coming week she’ll go to school hoping the cafeteria will serve her favorite lunch, beefy nachos. She’ll watch her favorite shows, Sofia the First and Phineas and Ferb. She’ll draw pictures, tell jokes, and live her life.