Local family’s bond with doctor goes beyond medicine

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — When Hanna Knowling was pregnant, she found out her daughter’s skull had fused before she was born.

Ruthie Knowling was born without a soft spot, which means her brain and head would not grow properly. When Ruthie was three months old, she was sent to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis to have a piece of her skull removed to allow her brain and head to grow normally.

“There’s no way to take away being scared,” Hanna Knowling said.

Thankfully for Knowling, there was someone who was there to try: Dr. Monica Wehby, a pediatric neurosurgeon.

“Dr. Wehby came in and was like, ‘Okay, this is where we’re at. I’m Dr. Wehby, this is what’s going on.’ I remember crying, but I remember her saying, ‘Honey, this is going to be okay. We’re going to get through this, it’s going to be okay,” Knowling recalled.

Wehby performed the surgery, but Knowling says it was the little things the doctor did that really made the difference.

“So, they had to shave her head before the surgery, clearly, and before we left, she [Dr. Wehby] came in with a bag of her hair in it. That was her [Ruthie’s] first haircut. I didn’t think of that, but it was, and she wanted us to have that. Like, ‘You didn’t get to do her first haircut, so here you go,’” Knowling said.

Ruthie is now 14 months old and doing great, and a large part of it is thanks to Dr. Wehby, who’s now an honorary member of the family, according to Knowling.

“One of the joys of pediatric neurosurgery is getting to watch them grow,” Wehby said.

The Knowlings and Wehby share a bond that goes beyond bedside manner. It’s a bond that will last a lifetime.

“I told her she’s stuck with us! She can’t get rid of us, even if she wanted to,” Knowling said.