David's Spine

Hi!

I'm giving an update on David's back--some people ask how he's doing wearing the brace, so thank you for thinking of him. I also have 2 friends whose kids have scoliosis, so maybe if this information can be helpful to them, or a time comes when they ask for specifics, I can send them to this post.

David has been wearing the brace for about 8 months now. He wears it about 17 hours a day: when he sleeps, and when he's at school. He takes it off after school and puts it back on again before bed. He also has PT exercises to strengthen the muscles. The idea is that as he grows, by wearing the brace his back will grow more UP than more curved.

The curve in his spine is pretty severe. They recommend wearing a brace if the curve is about 25% to 45%, give or take. Last year his curve was about 42%.

Yesterday, we had another x-ray taken, and his curve has actually grown a little worse. I'm including the x-rays--even my untrained eye can see that it's a little worse. Some people find x-rays interesting. You can click on it to enlarge it.

The doctor now recommends surgery. (Gasp, choke, don't worry: I am FULLY aware of how awful that sounds!) He's looking at 5 vertebrae, that are the farthest from the "center line" he drew. Those can be pulled in to the center with bolts and rods, then those vertebrae heal for 6 months, into one piece. David asked about how that affects mobility, and the doctor said given the location of these vertebrae, it would be slightly limiting on twisting side to side, but generally kids don't notice it that much. Our doctor does 50 to 80 of these surgeries year at Children's Hospital in Boston, and he only works on children.

He recommends doing it sooner than later, since in the last 8 months David's back has grown more curved...by waiting, it's more likely that it will grow even further away, and then you're looking at doing surgery to pull in more vertebrae. Maybe 6, or even 7, instead of 5.

If you know anything at all about how Frank and I do things, you'll remember that we research to the point of RIDICULOUS. We don't jump into things, so don't think we are doing anything blindly. I have made an appointment for an MRI for David the week after next, then our doctor can examine that, and give his analysis and answer more questions that Frank and I have.

Just a heads up, that it's probably coming, and just to keep David in your prayers! He's so even-keeled, he didn't even get upset about the prospect of surgery and a hospital stay. He said he would prefer to do it before summer, so he can heal and maybe participate in cross-country again in the fall.

(And by the way, we don't need anybody's horror stories right now! Just like when a woman is pregnant, everybody has some awful story to tell--ha! We prefer to keep things as positive as we can, for everybody's sake.)

We'll keep you posted. Kari