I have debated writing this on my public blog. Something keeps telling me to do it.
I write this not for sympathy, but in hope that it will help someone reading this.
About 3-4 weeks ago I discovered that our DD has scoliosis.
I was tieing her bow before church and noticed that one shoulder was bigger then the other. I asked her if she hurt it...no. Then I thought...let me check your spine. It was curved. We went to our pastor. We agreed to pray for her each night, believing God to heal her.
Before this, I had been wanting to change the kids' doctor. We had been going to him for 14 years, but he seemed to be getting lax, among other things. So, this pushed me to find another doctor. I found one (a female) who was taking new patients.
A week after we got into the doctor. She referred us to an orthopedic dr. He had x-rays taken. The top of her spine is 20% curved and the bottom 12%. He thinks she is borderline needing a brace, but thinks that physical therapy and exercise will do the trick. He did refer us to a spine dr. about an hour away. We go in the beginning of March.
Monday we (she) have our first physical therapy session. I had to call Dr. R (the ortho Dr.) and request the PT.
Now for the emotional/mental side of the story so far.
I am going to be honest, when I saw her back I was...okay God let's see you move. (Not in a challenging way.) I was a bit down, as any mom will get when something is wrong with her kids. Jan. was a heck of a month as far a health issues go. So by the time this happened I was both weary and like okay let's do this.
DD was really down. She is a young teenage girl, so this made her feel not normal. Ugh, my heart broke when she told me that. She is super modest and did not want all of these dr.s looking at her. I don't blame her, but tried to explain that they are not looking at her funny, but want to help her.
DS was worried is his sister was going to be ok. Even though he can be the biggest pain, he really does love her.
DH was a bit down too.
As christians, this is a test on our faith. You know sometimes you pray for something and there it is. Other times, well you have to wait or your prayer is answered no. We have had a few talks about faith, prayer, God, etc. the last few weeks.
The whole time I have had the thought (the peace) that this is going to be alright. It is almost like God had prepared me for each new step.
I will keep you posted on the latest. Again, I hope that our situation can help you.
7 comments:
I'm so sorry you and your family are going through a tough patch with this. I have scoliosis and, at 56 years of age, have no problems; so PT must be VERY effective. Keep praying and stay positive. You are doing all you can, which is wonderful! And you are sharing it and allowing us to share with you.
I hope the fysiotherapy will do the trick, Christine! Wishing you and the family all the best dealing with this!
I wish your family and especially your daughter all the best through this trying time. I won't go into my long story regarding health issues in my immediate family (youngest son diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes and myself with breast cancer). However, I can say with confidence that God is good...this is coming from the most unfaithful Christian ever!
I was diagnosed with scoliosis in 6th grade after my teacher noticed I held my paper/pen funny (of all things. It often doesn't show up easily until puberty/the growth spurts that come in the tween years. I have it pretty bad. I actually have one vertibrae that is shapes like a triangle, with one rib out one side and TWO out the other. (So I have one more rib on my left than I do not my right.) The caused my upper and lower spine to curve a LOT. We really expected them to do surgery, but it was decided that - spinal surgery being dangerous - it was best to leave it alone. I never wore a brace because straightening it was not an option because of the weird vertibrae. I was told never to lift anything more than 25 pounds (I'm 5' and 100 lbs) but that went out the window when I backpacked Europe with a 50 lb backpack and again when I had kids - my kids were around 50 lbs before I stopped lifting them! I'm in my mid 40's now, and have lived a very good life. I am careful about not lifting too much and the WAY that I lift things - but honestly, nobody notices, they just think I'm standing with weight on one leg and not straight. I knew a girl in JR High who DID have to wear a brace and nobody teased her - everyone was more curious and concerned - but thought of it like getting braces on the teeth: a temporary and normal thing that some people do. Please tell your daughter about us who've lived with it and that everyone has SOMETHING medically wrong with them at one point or another, and to be glad that she was blessed to get something not life threatening. I don't mean for that to sound callious or like I'm downplaying the situation - but I know from experience that you can't let these things get you down. I bet you are stronger than that - that your daughter is stronger than the scoli!
Reading your post (and also comments from the ladies) is eye-opening to me. Thank you so much for sharing your sensitive story with us. My heart goes out to your family, Christine. Your DD is a strong young lady. With your support, I'm sure she would handle this beautifully and learn a lot from the experience too. :)
I wish the best with you, your family and daughter. I was diagnosed with scoliosis until I was 18 years old. It was discovered after I had tramatic injuries as a result of a car accident. I had screenings as a child but no one ever found it. I always noticed as a teenager that my pants legs seemed shorter on one side and that my backpack always stayed on better on one side of my body. I'm living with it. The only side effect I have is upper back pain when I do too much lifting or carrying. It will always cause problems for me but with physical therapy as needed, I'm able to do most things. It's great that you were able to get a diagnosis sooner with your daughter, especially since she is still growing. I would recommend searching for stretching exercises online. I use a tennis ball to stretch the muscles around my spine. It helps alot. Stay positive and supportive. Your daughter will have a hard time with it at first. I ignored it and didn't take it seriously when I was younger which end up causing more problems.
There is nothing that hurts parents more than when our kids hurt. I will be praying for you guys that the PT will reverse whatever is bothering your DD's body.
He is the Hope that NEVER fails - and He won't fail you now.
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