Emergency hip surgery: Grady’s Story

Meet Grady

After recovering from emergency hip surgery at Children’s Mercy this summer, Grady’s Make-A-Wish experience came true this fall: Playing catch with Patrick Mahomes. (Double-click video to view in full screen)

After battling back from his own dream-interrupting injury this year, 14-year-old Grady has some wisdom to share with Patrick Mahomes: “Don’t doubt yourself! I had an injury kind of like yours, and I came back stronger than ever — so you should too.”

Grady has a rare genetic condition called Pompe disease that causes skeletal and muscle tissue damage. He uses a combination of independent and supported walking and a wheelchair to move through the world, depending on the circumstances. Grady lives in Jefferson City, Mo., and gets most of his care in Columbia, Mo. But Children’s Mercy got to step in when he needed emergency surgery this summer.

Grady and his parents, Meghan and Ryan, came to Kansas City in July to fulfill his Make-A-Wish experience:

To play catch with Mahomes. Grady spent months working hard in physical therapy to be able to walk unassisted when he met his football hero. The night before Grady was scheduled to meet Patrick, the family got to town in time to grab some barbecue and settle in.

Then the unthinkable happened: Grady slipped, fell and landed hard on his left hip.

A devastating setback

They knew something was wrong when the notoriously tough kid was in excruciating pain (that he rated as only a 4 when asked by EMTs). He told his parents it felt like his hip was out of place. He went to straight to Children’s Mercy via ambulance, feeling every bump on the way.

The family was hoping it was a simple dislocation, but the X-rays showed serious damage: a fracture of the femoral neck, where the ball of the hip socket connects to the thigh bone. Grady needed surgery now.

“This is the type of break we worry about a lot because the blood supply to the hip socket is pretty sensitive,” said Aaron Shaw, DO, FAAOS, orthopedic surgeon. “The blood supply can get cut off and cause the bone to essentially die. So we took him to the operating room that night.”

Grady wanted to get into the OR as soon as possible; he wanted the pain to stop. But Meghan and Ryan were nervous: Grady was away from his home hospital, and everything was happening so quickly. The Orthopedics team quickly put them at ease.

“When we met the anesthesiologist and Dr. Shaw, I instantly felt better,” said Meghan. “Dr. Shaw was so relaxed and confident. I felt like this is going to be okay.”

Grady doesn’t remember much from the night, just the pain. Fortunately, the surgery went well. Grady’s parents were relieved to see him smiling as he was wheeled to his post-op room.

Working overtime to get back to the wish

When he needed emergency surgery, Grady was hours away from his home hospital and Pompe disease care team. Children’s Mercy stepped in to heal his fractured hip.

“Grady’s so determined that by 10 a.m. the next morning, he was already checking things off the discharge list,” said Meghan. The family was a little hesitant when it came time to actually leave: Would the drive home be too painful? Their care team prepped them for the ride home, and they made it with just one stop on the way.

Then the real work of recovery began.

“One of his goals was to walk independently, so he could play catch with Patrick Mahomes, and he was ready to,” said Meghan. “And then the accident happened. It was a super big letdown and just really heartbreaking.”

But Grady is known for his persistence, and he had some star power in his corner: Mahomes sent Grady a personal video message saying that he and the Chiefs are supporting him, and he hoped they could meet in-person some other time. To make that happen, Grady had to get through 6 weeks of enforced rest with no weight-bearing at all.

“He’s a very active kid, so we wanted to be able to get him back to as much independence as we could but avoid any higher risk activities,” said Dr. Shaw. “One of the first questions he asked me at his 2-week follow-up was when he could get back on his 4-wheeler. I was like: ‘It’s a little early.’”

After 6 weeks of taking it easy, Grady had X-rays at Children’s Mercy, and Dr. Shaw cleared him to start physical therapy. He began working toward unassisted movement again with his home team and followed up with Dr. Shaw over telehealth.

A second chance for a game of catch

About halfway into Grady’s recovery, The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri & Kansas invited Grady and his family to the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation gala at the end of October. Grady had a new deadline for being able to be on his feet for a little bit — one he was determined to meet.

“He’s very resilient,” said Dr. Shaw. “He’s had to battle a lot more than most kids. He’s been working really hard ... and proving everybody wrong!”

“He walked into the living room one day, and Ryan and I were like, ‘What are you doing?!’” said Meghan. “It was really good to see that: He pushed himself, and even his therapist was impressed he was able to get back to walking independently so fast.”

October came quickly, and the family was ready for their Make-A-Wish experience.

“The second trip to Kansas City was really cool; they really spoiled Grady,” said Meghan, who shared that the adventure included a private tour of Arrowhead Stadium in addition to the gala night.

Patrick Mahomes poses with Grady and his dad, Ryan, and his mom, Meghan, at the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation gala during his Make-A-Wish experience. He worked hard for months in physical therapy to be able to stand and walk unassisted for this meeting.

When they got to the big party, they were taken to a secret back room where they got to hang out with Mahomes and Andy Reid.

“I asked Mahomes if he liked winning at home or away better,” said Grady. “He said he likes winning at home, obviously. When he’s away and scores a touchdown, the crowd gets silent. He said he feels like the villain — but he doesn’t want to be the villain.”

They found out they liked a lot of the same junk foods: Spicy Doritos, Starbursts and Jolly Ranchers. Grady asked him to play catch, and they tossed the ball.

“If I dropped that pass, I would never show my face again,” Grady said. He caught it, of course, and threw a tight spiral back.

Wish: granted ... with a little boost from Children’s Mercy to get him back into the game.

"Don't let it ruin the book"

Grady will continue telehealth check-ups with Dr. Shaw to monitor his progress and will come back to Kansas City for a 6-month follow-up visit in February.

Grady’s family was very grateful to have Children’s Mercy with them on this unexpected detour. They raved about the compassionate care they received, from quick patient portal responses ... to the “top-notch” security guards in the ER ... to the nurse who stopped to give Meghan a much-needed “mom hug” on that very scary first night.

As part of his Make-A-Wish experience, Grady got a private tour of Arrowhead Stadium. The Children’s Mercy Orthopedics team is tracking his progress after hip surgery.

“It was a bad situation, and we were in a place we didn’t know — but we were in the right place,” said Meghan. “I’m thankful that we were in really good hands there. They take care of people.”

Grady joked that the feedback he would give Children’s Mercy is, “Tell the doctors to give the anesthesia and do the surgery earlier; the pain is not fun.” But he was in a more philosophical mood right before the surgery, when his parents captured a video of him giving this sage advice:

“Life is like a book,” said Grady. “There’s some bad chapters. There’s some good chapters. Even if the chapter’s bad, don’t let it ruin the book.”