“We expect it to take longer than a typical kid,” Mrs. Royer said.

Charley seems close, cruising around the house while hanging on to the furniture for balance. Other times he crawls, having recently raised himself up on all fours after months of zipping along in what Mrs. Royer called his army crawl, using his legs but not fully up on his knees.

He gets physical and occupational therapy every week, and Mrs. Royer spends an hour a day working with him on walking. His father built parallel bars out of plastic pipe, and as Charley walks hanging on to those, his parents hand him toys to encourage him to hold the bar with just one hand. His legs were strong enough to bear his weight and let him stand at six months, Mrs. Royer said. The first time he walked across a room, holding on to a walker with wheels, he finished by plopping down and yelling “Whoa!” Mrs. Royer said. She wept.

Despite fetal surgery, many children with spina bifida are incontinent. But Charley, to the surprise of his doctors, has aced a series of complicated diagnostic tests, indicating that his bladder function is normal and he is likely to have urinary control.

“People ask me : ‘So he’s all good now? It’s over? He’s cured?’” Mrs. Royer said.

No.

“Fetal surgery is not a cure,” she said. “Damage was done before the surgery, and all they can do is close it up so the damage doesn’t get worse. He’ll have to be monitored for the rest of his life. He’ll have this condition for the rest of his life. His outcome is great. But things could change.”