Alexander fell down!

[laurieg6]

Yesterday, during one of our 2-3 daily walks together, Alexander tripped over my feet & fell down onto his elbow, wrist & knee on a blacktop path. He said nothing bothered him except for his cuts but I'm still worried about the fusion. Today his back hurts a little so we are going for a walk but I wanted to see if anyone thought I should call the Dr. or do anything else. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[~ScoliosisGirl~]

aww.. thats sad to hear
i hope he feels better

[CurvySAT05]

Laurie,
Fusions are really usually hard to damage. If he is in a lot of pain I would consider calling the surgeon or taking him to an urgent care center to control the pain, but I doubt that it is necessary. If he has a post-op coming up soon I would just bring up the incident then and make sure that nothing has moved on the x-ray films then. I think that it is highly unlikely that anything has happened.

[laurieg6]

Thanks,

Since he's not in pain from the fall, I'll just mention it during his next post-op on Oct. 2nd. I appreciate the info.

Take care,

[MATJESNIC]

Laurie,

It sounds like he's okay. But that must have been scary for both of you. Hope your next walk is more enjoyable. You must be really bonding with all those nice walks you are taking.

[Carmell]

Laurie,

Sorry to hear Alexander fell down. It is so frightening to watch our kids. Where's that bubblewrap when you need it! I'm sure he's just fine. When Braydon had his fusion at 11 months old, the surgeon told us that "short of dropping him off a 3-story building, the fusion material will be fine". Braydon started walking independently a few months after his fusion. You know that infants/toddlers do A LOT of falling on their bottoms. I knew for sure falling and landing on his diaper would disrupt the fusion, but it didn't. He did fine. His fusion is still very solid 11+ years later.

Happy walking!

[sam_newyork]

Hi Laurie,

That is a bit scary. My daughter just had a surgery in June, so I understand your concern. I hope he's feeling fine now.

Hi Carmell,
I also recall one of the nurses at the hospital saying that the fusion is generally not impacted by anything, yet surgeons, like ours, prohibit children from biking, roller blading, etc until about six months or so. I am wondering if falling does not impact the fusion, why do surgeons limit activities for the kids for such a long period? Thoughts?

Sam

[The Slice]

I think that's pretty obvious, that the potential impacts and effects on the spine with a roller blading, or biking accident, etc, can be a lot worse than just falling over when you've tripped over something while walking. Some have been told that horseback riding is out too until a certain point. The stress here is probably similar to falling down, but it's over and over again, especially if the horse is cantoring, or even worse, galloping. It's also a bit of a safety net to keep the doctor out of trouble as well. Let's face it, we've become a sue happy society.

[laurieg6]

Thanks for all the info about the fusion process! It really helps. I am so lucky to have found a supportive group like this to help me cope with this very stressful time in my family's life. You are all so great & I really appreciate all your thoughtful responses. Even though I am relatively calm & so relieved the surgery's over, I still worry whenever Alexander has an ache or pain. Yet I am in awe of his recovery process & how well he is doing. In some ways he seems so strong, but after such a serious surgery he is also so fragile...