Alexis Skyy says doctors once warned that her daughter Alaiya might never walk or talk.
In a new interview with SHEEN magazine, Skyy recalled the day a simple prayer helped her little girl defy the odds.
She remembered placing her hands on her daughter’s back, giving her a gentle push, and saying, “God, please, if I never asked you for anything, just let my baby walk. And she walked.”
“I knew at that very moment that God was real,” she added.
Alaiya has faced several other health challenges, including problems with her balance that eventually required surgery to improve her mobility.
After researching her options with her mother, Skyy decided to move forward with the procedure at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
The surgery came with serious risks, including possible nerve damage and paralysis. To make matters worse, insurance didn’t cover the procedure, so Skyy had to come up with the $50,000 herself.
She spent years saving for the operation while Alaiya remained on a waiting list for two and a half years. When the hospital finally called with an opening, Skyy already had the money set aside.
“I knew like the day would come,” she said. “So I always praised.”
Although the surgery was successful, the recovery was far from easy. Alaiya spent approximately a month in the hospital, followed by two months of bed rest. With casts on her legs, she had to rebuild her mobility through extensive physical therapy.
Alaiya, now 8 years old, attends public school and continues to make progress in therapy, which she’s been receiving since she was six months old. She hasn’t had another surgery in several years.
“She’s doing amazing,” Skyy shared.
Skyy kept much of Alaiya’s recovery off social media and limits what she shares about her daughter. She said that when she gets into public disagreements, critics often go after Alaiya or question her parenting.
“I definitely protect her all the time,” she said.
Through it all, the former Love & Hip Hop star credits her faith and the support of her family for helping her navigate motherhood.
“Really, it was just faith, prayer, and a village,” she said.
Skyy credits her mother and grandmother with helping raise Alaiya, particularly while she was filming. Alaiya’s great-grandmother, whom Skyy described as an old-school Jamaican woman, introduced her to scripture, prayer and gospel music.
Alaiya has embraced those teachings and prays for herself and her mother, knows every praise song, and even offers words of encouragement to strangers. “You’re covered,” she sometimes tells them, according to Skyy.
“She is a walking testimony,” the proud mom added. “She’s a voice for other special needs kids.”
