About Carter & Friends

At 18 weeks pregnant Kasey Hilton found out that her son, Carter was diagnosed with Spina Bifida. Over the course of her pregnancy she and her son underwent fetal surgery at C.S. MOTT Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A surgery that was created at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) which has had wonderful success for children with this diagnosis.

After surgery and on bed rest, Kasey decided that she wanted to do something to raise awareness, money, and hope for families of children who also have Spina Bifida and to help the hospital that helped her and her son in so many ways. It was at this time that 'Carter & Friends' became a real idea.

Once Carter was born things moved rather quickly and people got right to work to create what we now know today as 'Carter & Friends'. It signifies that this was created due to Carter's Journey and that the Hilton family, along with many other families of children with SB have learned, and are learning to "Embrace the Bif" or the Spina Bifida that their children have been diagnosed with.

In May of 2015 the Foundation held its first event. We are new but we mean business when it comes to raising awareness to all that Spina Bifida is not the end of the world diagnosis; it's the complete opposite.

We hope you will join us in raising awareness and hope to those who have a child who has been diagnosed and to raise money to help C.S. MOTT Children's Hospital become one of the best advocates for Spina Bifida research.

Board Members:

President- Kasey Hilton

Vice President- Brittney Pippin

Secretary- Emily Clay

Treasurer- Haley Hancock

I am thrilled that this foundation has taken off as well as it has and that we have been able to raise money for MOTT and children with SB. More importantly, I am elated that our story has raised so much awareness to others about what Spina Bifida is and that we have been able to share our story. Being able to spread the word about SB means more to me than anything else we have done.

Carter’s Journey Blog

Located in Ann Arbor Michigan, C.S. MOTT Children’s Hospital has been a blessing to the Hilton Family and to the families that have since come after to undergo fetal surgery and receive care. MOTT is one of the best hospitals in the country and have received multiple awards for specific specialty’s within their hospital. (See second link for the top rankings in the US that MOTT has received.)

MOTT Children’s Hospital website

Carter underwent fetal surgery on July 29th, 2014 at only 23.5 weeks gestational at C.S. MOTT Children’s Hospital; the first baby to have that particular surgery at MOTT. He was born at 34 weeks on October 10th, 2014 and stayed in the Brandon- NICU at C.S. MOTT Children’s Hospital for about a month before coming home. On December 10th Carter had surgery to have a VP shunt put in to help drain the excess fluid in his ventricles. Carter continues to grow more and more every day and loves to talk, laugh, and play with his two dogs at home. We are so proud of all the progress Carter has made!

Read articles about Carter:

New U-M surgery tackles spina bifida in the womb

Surgery before birth: Carter’s spina bifida story

Most of the time when a parent says their child has Spina Bifida the response is “What’s that?” Although many people have never heard of SB it is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the U.S. and every case and child is different. For more information about Spina Bifida please click this link!