Le Bonheur Pumpkin Run
Tupelo, MS
October 10, 2026

Jessie Knight went for a routine ultrasound when she was 20 weeks pregnant. Jessie and her husband, Cory, were excited to see their growing baby but instead they received unexpected news: their baby had several severe medical conditions.

The Knights were referred to a specialist who told them their baby would have major spinal, abdominal and neurological defects. After Katy Mae was born, she was diagnosed with cloacal exstrophy ─ a rare and severe birth defect that caused her organs to develop outside the abdomen. She was also diagnosed with spina bifida, a club foot and hip dysplasia.

The Knights turned to Le Bonheur for treatment.

At Le Bonheur, Katy Mae received care from an orthopedic surgeon and urologist. She has undergone 25 surgeries on her legs, feet, hips, spine and abdomen. While being in the hospital can be scary, according to Jessie, everyone at Le Bonheur, from doctors and nurses to respiratory therapists and Child Life specialists, makes Katy Mae and her family feel well cared for and heard.

Katy Mae is also able to receive care closer to her Mississippi home at the Le Bonheur Tupelo Outpatient Center.

“It’s such a blessing to be able to go to the Tupelo clinic and not have to drive more than two hours to Memphis to get a five-minute X-ray,” Jessie said. “We have also been able to get her leg braces fit there. This has made a huge difference for our family and enables us to spend more time with our other two children.”

Today, 18-year-old Katy Mae is thriving. She is walking, a milestone her family was unsure if she would reach. Katy Mae also recently achieved a monumental goal by graduating high school with her class.

The Knight family is so thankful for Le Bonheur Children's. When you participate in this year’s Pumpkin Run, you are making a difference for kids like Katy Mae.