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  • Lots of Questions!!

    Hello all,

    This is my first post and I would like to thank everyone in advance for any replies. My daughter is 15, a very avid competitive soccer player and has been a a brace for the last three years. The first two years the brace seemed to hold pretty well but in the last six months her curves have rapidly progressed to T48 and L31 (hopefully I am posting this correctly). At our last appointment her specialist recommended a consultation with the surgeon which is scheduled for 08/28 (seems like forever away with little hope to get in earlier), the week before school starts. With the help of this forum we are working on preparing for the possibility of surgery but have lots of questions.

    1. Has anyone had any experience with Gillette's Children's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. or Dr. Lael Luedtke and if so, what can you tell us?

    2. Are there any other soccer players out there who have gone through this and have you been able to rehab and continue to play?

    3. What kinds of things did you do to occupy yourself while you were healing?

    4. Can you give us some idea of time frames that you have experienced such as; how long the hospital stay was, how long were you out of school, etc.

    Any other advice you can give us?
    Brismom

  • #2
    Originally posted by brismom View Post
    Hello all,
    Hello! And welcome to the forum!

    1. Has anyone had any experience with Gillette's Children's Hospital in St. Paul, MN. or Dr. Lael Luedtke and if so, what can you tell us?
    I was at the Twin Cities Scoliosis Center, when I had my surgery, so sadly I have no info on the doctor or hospital.

    2. Are there any other soccer players out there who have gone through this and have you been able to rehab and continue to play?
    She'll be able to do many things after surgery. The most inportant thing is to allow the healing to take place before she goes out and plays soccer again. As she is young she'll heal pretty fast, a lot faster tha you might think too, but make sure to always follow the doctors orders.

    3. What kinds of things did you do to occupy yourself while you were healing?
    Well at the time I was a 12 year old boy, so it was the Atari 2600 (console game system), GI Joes, and books.

    4. Can you give us some idea of time frames that you have experienced such as; how long the hospital stay was, how long were you out of school, etc.
    Well I was a bit of an extreme case, and things have changed a lot in the last 25 years since I had my surgery. I was in the hospital for a month and they kicked me out a bit early to help save on cost, but you won't have that long of a time in the hospital. Others with more recent surgeries will tell you that.
    I was out of school for a year, but again I was an extreme case. (You can see from my xrays in my sig) She can be back in school pretty quick. A few months probably. Depending on what your doctor says you may be able to wait to do the surgery for next summer, but that would be a doctor's decision.

    Any other advice you can give us?
    Stay positive. Both of you will be able to come through this with flying colours. Keep asking questions. We'll answer as best we can.

    Brad
    Surgeries July 26th & August 3rd 1983 (12 years old)
    Still have 57 degree curve
    2 Harrington rods
    Luque method used
    Dr David Bradford
    Twin Cities Scoliosis Center
    Preop xray (with brace on)
    Postop xray

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi I just had the surgery in May and it was very successful. I had 3 curves but only 2 were fused. The curve that was the worst was 65 degrees and was reduced to 11 and the other curve that was fused I'm not sure what it was fixed to but it's smaller than 10. The curve that wasn't fused was 35 degrees and fixed itself to 16.

      3. What kinds of things did you do to occupy yourself while you were healing?I'm still healing, and I am enjoying my summer holidays but sadly, not as much as I would like to be I can walk uptown and go shopping, but until August 28th(It's the same date as your consultation.) that's all I can do. On that date I go for my three month checkup and should be able to swim. Any contact sports like competetive soccor unfortunatly is banned for a year. It may be different where you live though.

      4. Can you give us some idea of time frames that you have experienced such as; how long the hospital stay was, how long were you out of school, etc. I was only in the hospital for 5 days and I didnt go back to school except for end of year exams because it was summer before I knew it!
      I'm 19 years old, had surgery 5 years ago
      3 curves Middle curve - 65 fused to 13 Bottom curve 35- fixed on it's own to 16!
      Fused from C7 to L1

      Comment


      • #4
        3. What kinds of things did you do to occupy yourself while you were healing? Before my daughter's surgery, I stocked up on DVD's, magazines and crafts. We didn't really need any of it. In the hospital, most kids sleep, sit in a chair watching TV, or do p.t. Once they get home, the first week or two is spent mostly resting, walking and taking naps as needed. Jamie didn't have time to get bored, really. She returned to school before she had a chance to get bored!


        4. Can you give us some idea of time frames that you have experienced such as; how long the hospital stay was, how long were you out of school, etc. Jamie was in the hospital 6 days. We were told around day two that she would be going home on day 5, but because we had a pain management problem the night before, we went home on day 6. Jamie recovered very quickly compared to some kids. She was given permission to return to school at 3 1/2 weeks post-op (1/2 days) but didn't return to school until she was 4 1/2 weeks post-op only because it was the start of Christmas break. She returned with her class after the break. By the time she was 6 weeks post-op, she was back in school full-time.

        Any other advice you can give us? Advice that I always give--take your own sanitary pads to the hospital. Alot of girls start their period while in the hospital regardless of when their last period was. If you need to ask for pads in the hospital, you're likely to receive the huge maternity pads. Make sure both you and your daughter stay healthy before and after surgery. It is very important to take care of yourself so you are able to take care of your daughter. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

        Good luck.

        Mary Lou
        Last edited by Snoopy; 08-05-2008, 05:35 PM.
        Mom to Jamie age 21-diagnosed at age 12-spinal fusion 12/7/2004-fused from T3-L2; and Tracy age 19, mild Scoliosis-diagnosed at age 18.

        Comment


        • #5
          3. What kinds of things did you do to occupy yourself while you were healing?

          School work, computer work, walking, drawing, guitar, etc.

          4. Can you give us some idea of time frames that you have experienced such as; how long the hospital stay was, how long were you out of school, etc.

          Four whole days and two half days on either end so five days.

          Savannah returned to school full time at 3 weeks and 5 days. She was not tired and we even went shopping after her first day back. I strongly suspect she could have gone back full time at three weeks and possibly half days a bit earlier than that based on the fact that she was completely caught up in all her subjects except English while working at home. So she was upright in a chair for long periods working before her return to school. Though mostly caught up, she was facing several tests and decided to bag those and just return a few days later. I was glad she did. As far as I can tell, the key for her was walking. A lot of walking. More than you might think.

          Good luck.
          Last edited by Pooka1; 08-08-2008, 08:05 PM.
          Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

          No island of sanity.

          Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
          Answer: Medicine


          "We are all African."

          Comment


          • #6
            Hey, I'm 17 and had the surgery 7 weeks ago.
            I can't answer the first two questions but the fact that your daughter is a soccer player will be helpful I think when healing because you have to use your thighs to push yourself up off a chair and bed, etc.
            I'm a figure skater so that really helped me I found.

            3. What kinds of things did you do to occupy yourself while you were healing?

            The hospital stay went by pretty fast because I slept ALOT.
            There were alot of parts of my stay that I didn't even remember...until my parents/friends told me about, because that's how out it I was.

            My friends lent me ALOT of DVDS so I watched those.
            Haha I recemend getting your daughter's favourite TV show on DVD
            I did alot of reading when I got home.
            And once I was comfortable sitting up, I sat at my computer alot more.
            I went for alot of walks because I wanted to walk more and more each day without getting EXHAUSTED.
            I loved walking with my ipod because my music kept me distracted from the fact that I was in pain/discomfort and how tired I was.

            I didn't do much the first couple weeks after, but they somehow went by fast because I napped alot.

            4. Can you give us some idea of time frames that you have experienced such as; how long the hospital stay was, how long were you out of school, etc.

            I had surgery Thursday morning and was home Tuesday morning...so only 5 nights. They said I could go home the Monday night though but I was a little nervous haha so I went home Tuesday.

            I went out for lunch/coffee with friends about 2.5-3 weeks after surgery.
            I wasn't out for very long at this point, but it was a start!
            I started going out for a few hours at a time to the mall or friends house or whatever about 4 weeks after surgery.
            Going to the malls/grocery shopping was tiring at first...and I would have to take brief breaks.

            I had my surgery June 26th and am going on vacation next week to South Carolina. My doctor told me the other day that I can even swim in the ocean and pool.
            I can do this only EIGHT weeks after surgery!

            The recovery is SO hard and frustrating at first, but I noticed a HUGE weekly progress.

            I am SO glad I did the surgery.

            Hope that helps a bit!
            17 years old - Female - Canada
            Had fusion surgery June 26th, 2008
            Feel free to ask me ANY questions about my experience!

            Comment


            • #7
              hey all!
              Thanks for replying to my mom's message(Brismom). Everyone that has replied has been a real help! My mom and i have been doing a lot of research and have read through a lot of these posts looking for answers and trying to figure what to expect.. Unfortunately no informational websites have helped but FORTUNATELY we found this forum!
              My consultation with the surgeon is a little over two weeks away and i cant WAIT to figure out whether i'll be needing the surgery. IM SOOOO SICK OF MY BRAAAACE!!!!! I've had it for over three longgg years and am on my third annoying brace!...after reading all of the positive posts, im completely past being afraid of the surgery and just cant wait to be no longer-as some websites reffer to scoliosis-deformed.
              Thanks again! (I would appreciate any others to post replies)
              -Bri

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