Nicole's 2-month appt.

[jillw]

Melissa, I was reading a post on the yahoo vertebral stapling board by a father whose daughter had VBS but then went on to require fusion surgery. (this was several years ago). He said she was a ballet dancer and she went back to dancing and to see her on stage you would never know she had surgery. Given the flexibility that is required for ballet, I found that promising (although I don't know the details of how long the fusion was, etc, but she did have a double curve)

Jill

[MATJESNIC]

Thanks everyone for your encouraging words.

[laurieg6]

Melissa,

It's great to hear that Nicole is doing well. I'm sure she'll loosen up over time as she relaxes into her new shape & more fully recovers from the surgery. I'm glad she has excellent posture, as you indicated in another post.

Alexander still has uneven shoulders & tends to tilt to the left - his lower shoulder side. It worries me quite a bit & I frequently find myself telling him how to stand up straighter. But he feels great, reportedly & otherwise seems great physically. He can walk fast for miles, he swam 24 laps yesterday. The surgeon recommended swimming so we've been going 4-5 times a week for the last month or so. It does seem to help his strength & posture but the posture is still not quite normal at all.

It's been harder for me to get on this forum lately because I've been so busy with the kids. I'm getting up earlier for the swimming so I can't stay up so late as I'd been doing - reading & writing on this forum. It's really good to be back on again "catching up" with how everyone's doing.

Take care,

[MATJESNIC]

Laurie,

It sounds like your son is doing great. Nicole is not allowed to do anything except walk right now. Our next appt will be at 6-months post-op and then we should have some new things added to that. I keep telling Nicole to bend a little when she is reading or writing or eating. But she still keeps herself straight because she is so fearful of doing something to harm herself. Even the surgeon said she can start doing a little bending. I am not talking about bending down to touch her toes, but bending to look down at something for example.

When do they stop having to do the log rolling?

[geo]

Hi Melissa,

I've read several of your posts about Nicole's surgery and recovery. I laughed when I read that you try to encourage her to bend a little, even just to read; I find myself moving stiffly also, and it is deliberate rather than necessary because I worry about doing something that would make me have to go through all of this again!

It is a very vulnerable feeling, though, to go through this huge surgery, and then try to get back to a normal life. You kind of have to learn to trust your body again.

As for the logrolling, my physical therapist told me that in all actuality, everyone should get out of bed that way; she said even after I fully recover, I should continue to logroll to prevent unnecessary twisting of my spine.

[Susie*Bee]

logrolling...

I'm an adult, but I just checked with my scoli nurse this morning about whether I still need to logroll... and she said YES! I am over 6 months post-op. I should have asked if that was for life or not! I have a feeling it's at least for a very long time.

Be patient with Nicole about leaning a little forward. And maybe if you call it leaning instead of bending, she might try it a little. I know I can't do it very well, but maybe that has to do with how long the fusion is. Mine is from T2-L4. It takes getting used to being so straight. I was just released at 6 months to do slight bending, from the hips only.

Best wishes for Nicole's quick recovery and a wonderful time over the holidays for you all!

[MATJESNIC]

Thanks to both of you. Good advice. Happy Thanksgiving! Continue with your wonderful recoveries.