KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – “I’m so excited. We’ve been planning this for nearly a year, and the day is here!”
It’s 7 a.m., and Kathyn Keeler, MD, an Orthopedist, paces eagerly in the Adele Hall entrance near the operating rooms (OR), her scrub cap pulled tight, her eyes glistening as she and her team await the arrival of 11-year-old Caoimhe (pronounced Keev-a, meaning “beautiful, gentle, kind”). Nearby, a fellow surgeon holds a small lab coat custom embroidered in purple thread that reads: Dr. Caoimhe Harley, Orthopedic Surgery. The scrub cap made just for her includes dainty flowers, one of her favorite symbols of beauty and growth.
While Caoimhe and her family are no strangers to driving 100 miles to Kansas City to receive specialized care for her condition, called progressive hereditary spastic paraparesis, this day was different. Today, Caoimhe works alongside her heroes and serves as a surgeon in the operating room – a dream she has had since early childhood as Children’s Mercy became a regular part of her life story.
Prepped and ready, her white coat shining among the dim lights, Caoimhe guides her automated wheelchair down the hall and prepares to enter the OR, saying: “I am so happy – this is my first time. It’s my wish to be a bone doctor!”…