Children: Jumping, jumping, jumping, jumping. 

Caitlin Merritt: Hi. We are Caitlin and Jeffrey Merritt from Dallas, Texas. We have three daughters. We have Camille, who is six, Claire four, and Laine, who is two. Our first two pregnancies were very healthy, very normal pregnancies, and then we got pregnant with Laine and we found out that she was diagnosed with bladder extrophy at our 20 week ultrasound.

It was really hard because we had never even heard of this diagnosis before, and so we left that appointment and really hit the ground running, trying to figure out everything about bladder extrophy. 

Jeffery Merritt: So initially we interviewed five doctors across the country with Dr. Canning being our last doctor. We knew right then and there that he was gonna be the doctor to perform surgery on Laine.

I think the things that led us to CHOP were Dr. Canning and his urology team, as well as the MIBEC program, which consists of doctors from [00:01:00] Boston, Philadelphia and Wisconsin. 

Caitlin Merritt: Laine's bladder closure surgery was on April 25th of 2022, three months after her birth. She spent a month in the hospital after that surgery and Dr. Canning felt that Laine was progressing in the right direction, and so we were able to head back to Dallas two weeks early. A week later, we find out the devastating news that Dr. Canning had passed away on May 30th of 2022. It was a really hard time for our family. We were still very much in the thick of it.

We were very fortunate that Laine was Dr. Canning's final bladder extrophy case before his time on Earth ended and he will forever be Laine's hero. 

Jeffery Merritt: We are so thankful that he got to perform his last bladder extrophy surgery on Laine.

Douglas Canning, MD: Good. Okay, perfect. She did really well. 

Jeffery Merritt: I'm gonna record this if that's okay.

Douglas Canning, MD: Yeah.

Jeffery Merritt: Just to have it.

Douglas Canning, MD: Of course. Yeah, that's fine. Yeah, she, no, she did beautifully. So it's a long day. It went really well.

Caitlin Merritt: Yay. Perfect.

Douglas Canning, MD: Um, you know, everything else went really well. I think she's got a great looking belly button.

Yeah. Well, remember, it's a little bit of a marathon here, not a sprint, so.

Caitlin Merritt: I know. I know. Yeah.

Douglas Canning, MD: You know, you have to relieve each other. 

Caitlin Merritt: I know. I'm a little nervous for that.

Douglas Canning, MD: When you finally, you can let yourself go. I mean, he's only a phone call away. So, so long day for you guys. I hope you get a rest.

Caitlin Merritt: Long day for you too.

Jeffery Merritt: Yeah, we, yeah. We're happy it's over.

Caitlin Merritt: I know. 

Jeffery Merritt: Yeah. We appreciate everything you guys have done.

Douglas Canning, MD: Good. Alright. Well.

Jeffery Merritt: Our experience at CHOP exceeded our expectations. The care and commitment of both the doctors and nurse was above and beyond. 

Caitlin Merritt: The transition from Dr. Canning to Dr. Weiss has been seamless.

We miss Dr. Canning tremendously, but we feel confident in Dr. Weiss and her team's knowledge and skills. 

Jeffery Merritt: We couldn't have picked a better hospital for our daughter. 

Caitlin Merritt: Laine is a typical 2-year-old. She is so full of life and she loves to do what any 2-year-old loves to do. She loves to jump on the trampoline, she loves to play hide and go seek with her big sisters. 

Jeffery Merritt: Yeah, Laine is such a joy to see, grow and, and continue to develop. She keeps up with her big sisters. She's smart, funny. She's definitely the youngest of the family and she runs the household. 

Caitlin Merritt: She is doing so well and she's so resilient and we are so proud of who she is.

She is just perfect. 

Jeffery Merritt: If you met Laine, you would never know she has bladder extrophy.