Anyone from Atlanta

[donna stiles]

Hello, anyone out there heard of Emory Spine and Orhthopedic Cente-Dr. William Horton? My daughter is scheduled for surgery March 13 at Emory University. She has a top curve of 52 and low curve of 48. How common is two curves, is sugery more difficult? She plans to go to hairdresser school in the fall, will she able to stand for long periods of time afterwards? Any help is appreciated, even though I am a nurse, I am very anxious!

[CHRIS WBS]

Hi Donna,

If you click on the Search tab on top and type in Dr. William Horton’s name in the search box, you will find several instances where his name appears, all with positive comments. Double curves are quite common, and depending on your daughter’s age and length of her fusion, a career that entails standing for long periods of time may or may not be problematic. She should discuss that with her surgeon. I can only tell you about a former teacher I spoke to who decided to have her surgery when she retired at age 55 because she required a long fusion and said that she would never have been able to return to her teaching job that did require a lot of standing, but then she was in her 50s.

Best wishes to your daughter.

Chris

[Susie*Bee]

Donna-- This may not be very helpful, but I would be just as concerned with the bending over aspect of being a hairdresser... so it's a combination of standing and bending over. I know that it's extremely hard to dampen a young girl's dreams of what she wants to be, though, so check with your scoli doc. It may depend a lot on where and how long the fusion is. She's got a lot going for her in that she is young. Good luck!

[CHRIS WBS]

But when you come right down to it, doesn’t just about any job require bending at some point during the work day? While my job as a paralegal may be considered a desk job, I find myself bending quite a bit throughout the day. I’m pulling files from lower desk drawers, credenzas, reaching over my desk, bending to pull books from lower shelves in the law library, etc., etc. Will I no longer be able to perform these tasks if I’m fused to the sacrum? I certainly can’t expect my company to rearrange all the shelves and files throughout the department to accommodate my inability to bend.

Chris

[Susie*Bee]

I don't know, Chris. I didn't mean to sound the alarm for you. Someone else said that everybody is different--and so is every body's doctor! At this point I'm still not to bend, except slightly from the hip. I'll let you know if that changes when I go for my 10 months check-up in a few weeks. But on the other hand, Pam's doctor said she could go back to playing ball at 4 months post-op...

Maybe you didn't notice my posts (although I figured everyone was sick by now of them and my whining!) about spending so much time strengthening my legs so I can squat to do books on lower shelves in the library for my job. That's the way ALL people are supposed to get things that are low down, not just "fused" people. Yes, it's a challenge. We can handle challenges, though. We are strong people! I think you will be fine with your job, but will have to make some adjustments for how you perform part of the tasks.

As far as a hairdresser goes--it is supposed to be one of the most grueling jobs on your back, from what I've heard. And I may be wrong!

Gotta run--have a dental appointment. Bleh!