rods and metal detectors

[nicoles mom]

Hey Jennifer
Its Was Just 3 Months On June 30 Dr. Boachie Told Us She Could Walk In The Pool At 4 Months I Let Her Go In Yesterday With My Husband And I. But For A Kid Walking Around The Pool Is Kind Of Boring. She Goes In The Pool At Pt Twice A Week So I Let Her Go In Our Pool. We Have Big Tear Drop Steps So Theres No Ladder To Climb. We Have Been Going To The Movies Lots Of New Ones Out. She Sleeping In Her Brace Now And Wearing It About 20 Hrs A Day. I Just Hope And Pray Its Working I Really Don't Know If I Could Go Throught Surgery Again. As Far As The Stairs Nobody On These Forums Seems To Have This Problem. Nicole Asked On Spinekids And Nobody There Either We Spoke To Boachie He Told Me It Will Get Better And Some People Complain About The Stairs. Sneezeing Just Kills Her Everytime. Anyway All And All She Doing Very Good. How Many Months Has It Been For Your Daughter And Does She Have Any Problems Doing Things Still. Does She Still Go To Physical Therapy.
Theresa

[jc3]

hi theresa
nicole is now 8 months!! I cannot believe it. It went so fast. I can't believe boachie said only walking in the pool at 4 months, i'm surprised. That would be pretty boring just walking around the pool. I could see sneezing really hurting. I was so worried about my nicole getting a cold at the beginning for that reason. My nicole is not doing the physical therapy anymore. She probably should be, but was giving me a really hard time about going. I'll see what he says when we go back. She hated when they would massage her back.
have to go for now
Jennifer

[Mary Lou]

Jennifer,

How's your daughter doing with anyone touching her back? I'm sure someone has to touch her back to apply sunscreen. I know her appointment is some time this month, but I don't remember when. I'm curious to hear what you are told since you probably won't be back to the doctor until she is one year post-op. Good luck.

Mary Lou

[nicoles mom]

Hey Jennifer
Wow Eight Months That Went By So Fast.
Nicole Had A Lot Of Pain When You Touched Her Back Too.
Every Nite I Rub Cream Into Her Back And Now It Not As Bad.
She Says The Pt Is A Little Rough But We Keep At It.
Theresa

[jc3]

marylou,
nicole doesn't let me put the sunscreen on her back, but she lets her friends - go figure. I think she thinks i may be rough. I did buy the spray one, which is good and i bought an extra one for her to keep in her pocketbook. But i think all the build up from the sunscreen and not being able to wash her back good by herself, i noticed her back looked a little dirty on the scar area, so i had to give it a good cleaning for her. She was not happy at all. She is eight months and really does not like it being touched at all. My appointment is July 14th and i am looking forward to going to see what he says, but also a little nervous. I just want everything to be okay. I guess i'm so used to every appointment before her surgery the curve was worse. I will talk to him about disney also while we are there.
theresa,
that is great that she lets you rub cream on her back. What kind of cream do you put on her?

[Mary Lou]

Jennifer,

I won't even try to figure out teenagers. I am glad that your daughter is allowing someone to put sunscreen on her back. I push that issue too much, I'm sure, but Jamie understands that her scar looks so good right now, that I don't want it to get sunburned and end up looking ugly.

Theresa,

Keep up with the p.t. Jamie did p.t for a while and part of her p.t. was in a pool. As part of that therapy, they would sit her in front of the jets and let the water hit her back. She has never had any real problem with me touching her back and now at seven months post-op, she doesn't care who touches her back.

Mary Lou

[nicoles mom]

marylou
sounds like jamies doing great when did she stop going to therapy.


jennifer
i'm rubbing the maderma for scars on her 3x a day some areas are fadding.
i got nicole a long handle bath sponge she uses it on her legs and back in the tub.
theresa

[jc3]

theresa
i wish my nicole would let me put that cream on. So that maderma cream really works i guess. That's great.
marylou,
i was going to ask the same question when did jamie stop her p/t?

[Mary Lou]

Jamie started p.t. at about two months post-op and went for about six weeks, two time per week. She hasn't been to therapy since the end of March. Her therapy sessions were long. She started out with just 1/2 hour of therapy in the pool and after about two weeks she started regular therapy. When that started, she still worked out in the pool for about 30-40 minutes and then had regular therapy for an hour. After 1 1/2-2 hours of pt, she was tired, but it was well worth it. She is supposed to do stretches to keep her hamstrings loose which in turn would give her much more mobility in her back, but she doesn't. Just getting her active again has really helped. She commented just today that she can bend much easier when putting her socks on than she could in the past.

Watch your insurance coverage. We were only allowed some many pt visits per condition/per lifetime.

Mary Lou

[survivor]

survivor

I had not had any experience with metal detectors until I had my second surgery in 2002. I went off at the airport in St. Louis and they searched me anyway even though I had a spinal instrumentation card from the hospital. It was a little funny when they couldn't figure it out. I just kept saying I have rods in my back do you want to see my card and then finally I was searched by a female security person in front of everyone (not a strip search) just a take as much as you can off without undressing totally search.

Dawn

[HGD24]

I just traveled cross country this past week and wouldn't you know it...I set off every darn metal detector I passed through. I even set off the wands that are passed over your body when you're "selected" for additional screening.

YUP...even after being told by my surgeon that I should have no problem passing through them, I set 'em all off and yes, I had to get additional screening for setting off the walk-through detector. It wasn't much of a bother though seeing as though we planned for the extra time that it took to get through the security checkpoints.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Heidi...

Did you go through with jewelry or shoes on?

--Linda

[HGD24]

Hi Linda!

I don't wear any jewelry except for my wedding & engagement rings and those have never set the detectors off in the past and we all had to remove our shoes at every airport so those weren't the culprit. I was wearing jeans and a polo shirt on both travel days (different shirt each day of course). Nothing unusual there either as I always wear jeans and a T or polo shirt when traveling (I'm a creature of comfort!!). I asked if underwire in a bra would set them off, but was told that it shouldn't and the wand sounded only when it was run over my back, which granted me to honor of getting the coveted "pat down".

This is the first time in my life that I have set off the detectors and as I said, I didn't do or wear anything out of the ordinary compared to other trips I have taken, so I attribute it to my new accessories!

[LindaRacine]

Hi Heidi...

I guess that some day, they'll figure out why some people set off the detectors while others don't. I was sure I was setting them off because of my implants, but once we started having to take off our shoes, I stopped setting them off. I have more stainless steel implants than most (both anterior and posterior), so it's apparently not the amount of metal.

Regards,
Linda

[Theresa]

Okay, I have come up with my two cent theory on this now. Two weeks ago I flew back and forth between Houston and Orlando and didn't set off any detectors!!! I made my husband wait until I got through because last summer everytime I flew I set it off and had to be wanded and patted down. I am now wondering if as time passes and the bone grafts grow new bone, does enough of the metal get covered with bone so we are less likely to set it off? I'm flying again this week from Houston to Manchester, Vt and then back from Hartford, Ct. Two more airports to try out. It seems like most of us have the problem earlier on in our recovery than later. My two cents worth, I'll let you know how this next trip goes.