spinecor

[gerbo]

I'm attending a conference this weekend that features vert mooney..

dear nameless sportsdoc:

is this a scoliosis related conference? would be interested to know how dr mooney views his research, a few years later.

gerbo

[sportsdoc]

yeah...it's scoliosis symposium..kinda like SRS meeting..all the specialists get 30-45 minute time slots to do their presentation..then round table discussion and so on..it's put on my scoliosis association...

I just need to get registered though lol...couldn't reach anyone yesterday..will have to try today...urgh~~

[sportsdoc]

sorry...it's spine symposium lol...
scoliosis consists of about half of the symposium...other subjects relate to scoliosis.....

[cherylplinder]

Hi friends!
Wishing all of you a great weekend! The girls sang in a talent competition today. No one won, but I was proud of them for singing. They sing really well even if I am their mom. Will probably never do it for a living, but it's nice to listen to. Obviously I feel a little like rambling on to someone. Thanks for being such a fine group.
The weather is nice. It's spring. Enjoy your blessings this weekend.
Hugs,
Cheryl

[MATJESNIC]

Cheryl,
That's great about your girls singing. I also enjoy when my children perform. We were at a dance competition all day today and we will be back tomorrow. Nicole does a tap solo, song and dance, and is on various dance lines. Everything was going along well. I didn't think of scoli once. Then all of a sudden, the most bizarre dance comes on and the girls were dressed in hospital gowns one wearing a neck brace, one with an eye patch etc. It was the most depressing, weirdest dance. The name of the song was Girl Anachronism. I told my husband I hoped Nicole didn't think too much of it. But of course when I saw her later she said, "Mom, wasn't that dance really creepy. It reminded me about scoli surgery. Mind you, all the other dances were just normal dances that you would see, really happy and upbeat. Anyway, thought I would share. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Melissa

[cherylplinder]

Yeah, it is strange how you think about this. Rachel was walking in front of me to the park for the competition yesterday, and all of a sudden I noticed how her right hip was higher than the left. I had never noticed before. I think that lumbar curve is progressing into a real curve. I keep hoping I'm wrong. Wonder if I should get it checked again before September?

It would be nice to go a day without thinking about scoliosis.

But when my son was diagnosed with diabetes at 4, he was in danger of hyperosmolar ketoacidosis, coma, and death. We are two hours drive from Birmingham, but he was so gravely ill, they flew him there. When the immediate danger passed, all I could think of was that it could have been worse. Truly, I was so relieved that it was something that we could treat.

I feel the same way about scoliosis. It is treatable, ie surgery, if bracing doesn't work, but treatable. They will live full, healthy, happy lives. I won't lie and say it doesn't still make me cry. Diabetes makes me cry, too. I hate it, and I hate scoliosis. Might as well tell it like it is.

I think God gives us the grace to deal with the trials of the moment. Were it something else, He would give me the grace for that, too.
The ability to enjoy the blessings of each day, not forgetting my trials, but truly grateful for the good. That is a gift in itself. I won't say I do it every day. But I manage a lot of the time. (I've had a lot of practice with trials. I think most people have!)

A lot of the time God carries me with sweet friends like you all. Thanks for being there and lending your support, care, and advice.
You are dear to my heart!

[Snoopy]

Cheryl,

I agree with you--without friends from this forum, I don't know how I'd get through some of what we've been through. Believe it or not, I am thankful for Jamie's Kyphoscoliosis. I've always tried to be thankful for what we have---healthy, normal kids, nice home, loving family, a husband who works his butt off so I could stay home full-time with our kids, etc.--but Jamie's Kyphosis and Scoliosis just reminds me daily that we have life good. I've seen so many kids who are worse off physically than Jamie and it really makes us extra thankful for what we have. I think this Scoliosis journey has taught us all a lot. Jamie has become a wonderful spokesperson for Scoliosis. She's done numerous reports and speeches in school and her and I now run a support group for Scoliosis. She goes to our local Children's Hospital and visits kids who have just had Scoli surgery done. The way I look at it, the journey with Scoliosis isn't over yet, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't get me wrong, this has not been an easy journey. There are many, many days when Jamie and I both hate her Kyphoscoliosis. We hated that she missed out on so many special events because of her surgery especially the ones she personally earned. But all in all, it's an experience I'm glad we have gone through and I pray that we never have to go through it again! lol

Mary Lou

[cherylplinder]

Mary Lou,

Thanks for reminding me that God always brings good from every trial. He manages to make it a blessing. Sometimes I forget to look and see all the blessings that have come my way because of something I'm dealing with.

How wonderful that Jamie has used this to serve others!

You made me smile and warmed my heart!

Hugs!

Cheryl

[cyprusmom]

Just wanted to add my latest thoughts and all this we are ALL going through. Yes, I also hate scoliosis and I also cry when I think of the 'invasion' she will probably have to go through with surgery. Some things come into perspective though.....

Just a week ago we board the plane for Greece for the doctors appointment and after all of us 'normal' passengers are seated, the elevator starts lifting about 30 children of all ages with disabilities, some are hand carried into their seats, some taken on wheel chairs. They were all smiling, their parents, chaperons included. I watched the father across the aisle how he held and kissed his sons' hand during the whole flight, who could barely keep his head up but kept a smile. I could hear the little girls rambling behind me, couldn't understand a word, but she sounded happy.
My husband and I looked at each other and at our kids in the middle. We didn't have to say a word but we knew. We were lucky for all we have.
I bring this picture to my mind ever time I feel down and depressed.
Pola

[Celia]

A Mother's Day Poem

With Mother's Day quickly approaching, I thought I'd share a poem I came across a few years ago with some of the moms - it touches upon the crosses we bear. We had just recently discovered my daughter had scoliosis, so it was a very emotional time for me....

The young mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is this the long way?" she asked.

And the guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And
you will be old before you reach the end of it. But
the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not
believe that anything could be better than these
years. So she played with her children, and gathered
flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the
clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the
young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier
than this."

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was
dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and
the mother drew them close and covered them with her
mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not
afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and
the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother
was weary. But at all times she said to the
children," A little patience and we are there." So the
children climbed, and when they reached the top they
said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up
at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the
last, for my children have learned fortitude in the
face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage.
Today, I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened
the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the
children groped and stumbled, and the mother said:
"Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the
children looked and saw above the clouds an
everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the
darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is
the best day of all, for I have shown my children
God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and
the years, and the mother grew old and she was little
and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and
walked with courage. And when the way was rough,
they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather;
and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining
road and golden gates flung wide.

And mother said: "I have reached the end of my
journey. And now I know the end is better than the
beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their
children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with us,
Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."
And they stood and watched her as she went on alone,
and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We
cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother
like ours is more than a
memory. She is a living presence."

Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of
the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the
smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's
the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your
Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's
crystallized in every teardrop.

She's the place you came from, your first home; and
she's the map you follow with every step you take.
She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and
nothing on earth can separate you... Not time, not
space...not even death

[Singer]

That poem practically had me bawling !!!! Thanks for sharing it.

[pat]

Celia's poem

Thanks Celia, what a beautiful poem! Pat

[cherylplinder]

Every mother should have that poem. It really touched me. Do you know the author?

[sportsdoc]

Pattern of Having Children

Every mother should have that poem. It really touched me. Do you know the author?

let me add one for every christian mothers...or even fathers heh...


Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort
from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children.
After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve.
And the first thing he said was, "Don't."
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey, Eve...we have
forbidden fruit!"
"No way!"
"Yes, way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why?"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, (wondering why he hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants).
A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and was He ticked!
"Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God, as our first
parent, asked?
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own.
Thus, the pattern was set and it has never changed! But there is reassurance in this story. If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give
children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a
piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!

1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.

6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.

ADVICE FOR THE DAY: Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day.

AND FINALLY:

IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:

"TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

[AILEA]

Celia, a wonderfull poem; it made me cry!
Sportdoc, funny poem, It made me laugh!
So, after reading both, I´ve been crying and laughting at the same time. Fortunately I´m alone with my computer .If it colud speak....