The Waggenspack family makes the 10-hour trip from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to St. Louis Children’s Hospital. It’s a trip Erica and Chad Waggenspack could likely make in their sleep. 4-year-old Kerrigan is a patient at the Washington University (WashU) Rett Spectrum Clinic at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
The energetic young girl was officially diagnosed at the age of 2 in April 2020. Erica began to research the neurological disorder and found the International Rett Syndrome Foundation and was immediately given locations of Rett Syndrome clinics. The closest was in Houston, but Erica soon learned that WashU clinic at St. Louis Children’s Hospital offered a multi-disciplinary center.
The family has a team of doctors, nurses and specialists in Baton Rouge and visits St. Louis and the Rett Spectrum Clinic twice a year. “We won’t let Rett hold her back,” Erica said. “We make sure she does everything a normal 4-year-old will do. Rett is something she has, but that doesn’t define Kerrigan. Our family, friends, Dr. Ryther, her crew and local therapists are a village working together raising Kerrigan. Without that team, we wouldn’t be able to do what we need to do.”