There is so much to know about scoliosis and I find that I feel completely overwhelmed. Kelsey (13 this coming December) first made me aware there was a problem this past July. Her chief complaint was that her bra straps "never" stayed up. I thought I was dealing with a silly 12 year old and asked her to please come let me fix them.
I adjusted the straps and noticed that her bra did not run straight across her back. Yes! I was truly not comprehending what I saw. I actually asked her if it was straight in the front and she told me it was. Thats when I had her remove her shirt completely so I could get a look at her back. She has dressed in her room behind closed doors for over a year so I had not noticed the change.
When the shirt came off, you would think that I would have recognized what I was looking at! But, it took me a couple of days and talks with my sister for me to realize what I was dealing with. Now, the small things we had noticed in the last year began to make sense. Why was her ribcage so uneven? "Mom," she said at one point, "Why are your arms so short compared to mine?" (They aren't by the way when you factor in the fact that she shouldn't be shorter than me.) Why her back hurt. Why her chest hurt. etc....
At any rate, I called and got an appointment for the first Friday in August. After looking at my daughter's back the doc said, "I want her braced immediately." But, after finding out she had started her period nearly 2 years ago he wanted to x-ray to see if she was still growing. Because, if I understood correctly, he felt that if she had completed her growing it would do no good to brace her.
X-rays followed (August 10) but it would be 2 more months before we would be able to see him. Nine long weeks. The x-rays revealed a significant (58 degree) curve. And, no I don't know the medical jargon to explain it. It is an S-curve and the compensatory curve is such that she appears balanced when viewed from the front. Which, I guess is why I did not catch on to what was happening sooner. The protrusion of her shoulder blade I thought was due to the manner in which she stood, etc. There are hundreds of things I can think back on and wonder about why I didn't notice sooner. But, they won't change the present.
We have been recommended for surgery. And now we wait for that process to begin. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm completely lost as to what to expect or how to help Kels through the anxiety. We tell her to trust the doctors and we'll get through it one day at a time.
I adjusted the straps and noticed that her bra did not run straight across her back. Yes! I was truly not comprehending what I saw. I actually asked her if it was straight in the front and she told me it was. Thats when I had her remove her shirt completely so I could get a look at her back. She has dressed in her room behind closed doors for over a year so I had not noticed the change.
When the shirt came off, you would think that I would have recognized what I was looking at! But, it took me a couple of days and talks with my sister for me to realize what I was dealing with. Now, the small things we had noticed in the last year began to make sense. Why was her ribcage so uneven? "Mom," she said at one point, "Why are your arms so short compared to mine?" (They aren't by the way when you factor in the fact that she shouldn't be shorter than me.) Why her back hurt. Why her chest hurt. etc....
At any rate, I called and got an appointment for the first Friday in August. After looking at my daughter's back the doc said, "I want her braced immediately." But, after finding out she had started her period nearly 2 years ago he wanted to x-ray to see if she was still growing. Because, if I understood correctly, he felt that if she had completed her growing it would do no good to brace her.
X-rays followed (August 10) but it would be 2 more months before we would be able to see him. Nine long weeks. The x-rays revealed a significant (58 degree) curve. And, no I don't know the medical jargon to explain it. It is an S-curve and the compensatory curve is such that she appears balanced when viewed from the front. Which, I guess is why I did not catch on to what was happening sooner. The protrusion of her shoulder blade I thought was due to the manner in which she stood, etc. There are hundreds of things I can think back on and wonder about why I didn't notice sooner. But, they won't change the present.
We have been recommended for surgery. And now we wait for that process to begin. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm completely lost as to what to expect or how to help Kels through the anxiety. We tell her to trust the doctors and we'll get through it one day at a time.
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