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  • New & Concerned!

    Hi there! I'm new to the forum, and might be a bit premature posting here, but I feel that being able to talk somewhere is better than keeping things inside. You can call me Cindy, my husband is an OTR truck driver, so he is not home during the week to support me. He does on the phone, but that just isn't the same. Which is why I am here.

    Ok, today the school conducted a scoliosis screening with 7th graders, the school nurse called to inform me that my son, Eric (12) has a curve, didn't give me any specifics and I didn't know to ask. She said he needs to be evaluated with his doctor, I called and made an appt. and since it isn't considered an emergency, that appt. isn't until April 27th. Well, since I know nothing of this, I went surfing the net...which led me here. In reading things here and beings that I am not a patient person, I decided to call Orthopeadics and he now has an appt. for Friday morning. I am quite nervous at the outcome, but feel better knowing I don't have to wait a full month to find out for sure.

    Basically, I'm wondering, how good are the school screenings, does he really have it and if so what affect might it have on him?

    Anyways, thanks for listenin!
    Cindy

  • #2
    early detection

    dear cindy,

    I'm sorry to hear about your son but it sounds like your handling it properly. I was screened in the 6th grade (i'm now 30) and the nurse told my mother who did not get right on it! Ultimately I had to wear a brace which as a teenager i hated and did not wear. Well I had to have surgery and it has definatly had an impact on my life. Your doing the right thing scoliosis can be treated without surgery as long as your still growing, I'm sure everything will work out fine, the medical field has come a long way since my time!

    chris

    Comment


    • #3
      Cindy,

      Welcome to the board. First, take a few deep breaths and try to relax a little. Take these things one step at a time. Scoliosis is rarely an emergency situation. You have time to research and find out details about your son. Waiting a month sounds like forever, but it really isn't. Will your appointment be with a pediatric orthopedist? I hope so. Only an orthopod will be able to give you accurate information about your son's spine issues. Does he have any other medical issues that may contribute to the scoliosis?

      My hubby used to be an OTR driver too. Sometimes I miss that because there's less laundry and dishes to do when he's gone! LOL. However, I understand how hard it is to handle new information like this alone. Feel free to lean on the members of the board. We have a collectively large shoulder to lean on.

      Good luck and let us know what you find out.
      Carmell
      mom to Kara, idiopathic scoliosis, Blake 19, GERD and Braydon 14, VACTERL, GERD, DGE, VEPTR #137, thoracic insufficiency, rib anomalies, congenital scoliosis, missing coccyx, fatty filum/TC, anal stenosis, horseshoe kidney, dbl ureter in left kidney, ureterocele, kidney reflux, neurogenic bladder, bilateral hip dysplasia, right leg/foot dyplasia, tibial torsion, clubfoot with 8 toes, pes cavus, single umblilical artery, etc. http://carmellb-ivil.tripod.com/myfamily/

      Comment


      • #4
        Welcome new (possibly) scoli Mum:

        There are occasional false positives in school screenings for scoliosis, but I can't remember the precise error rates, sorry. My recollection is that they are not very high. That is, if the school nurse thinks your son has a curve, he may well have one.

        The first thing to probably remember is that while clinical scoliosis (technically a curve greater than 10 degrees -- you've no doubt read about Cobb angle by now) is equally frequent in males and females, the aggressive progressing scoli you'll hear people talk about here and at www.spinekids.com, the stuff with bracing and surgery and so forth, is nine times more likely in girls. That is, 90% of the progressive cases are girls, and only 10% are boys. So your odds are good right from the get go. Nonprogressing minor scoli is effectively a non-issue, and will require no treatment.

        Sounds like you're doing the absolute right thing to get your son's curve measured accurately by x-ray as soon as possible. If there is a big curve there, you will, of course, want to start dealing with it right away.

        If you just can't wait (I couldn't), you can get a rough sense of how big your son's curve might be yourself (note that this is very, very rough). The big things that you can see are:

        1) Does your child, when standing straight, look asymmetric, with the head not lining up directly with the centre of the pelvis?

        2) Does one of your child's shoulder blades stick out noticeably farther than the other? (Applies to thoracic curves -- I don't think you mentioned whether his curve(s) was thoracic or lumbar or both...)

        3) When your child bends forward from the hips with straight legs ("touching his toes") is there an obvious hump where the rib cage sticks up higher on one side that the other? (Also applies to thoracic curves.)

        4) When your child is standing straight, is there a marked fold on one side of the waist only? (Applies to lumbar curves.)

        5) Is one of your child's shoulders higher than the other?

        The more any of these physical signs deviates from symmetric, the larger the curve is likely to be, and the greater rotation present. My daughter, for example, has a 52 degree thoracic curve and a 50 degree lumbar curve. (She's been braced full time for a year and a half, but it hasn't halted the progression and she is scheduled for surgery in May.) Her right shoulder is a good two inches higher than her left. Her right shoulder blade sticks waaaaaaay out, almost perpindicular to the plane of the back. Her rib hump is maybe four inches higher on the right side than the left when she bends. When her curves were smaller (36/30 at diagnosis), all these signs were less extreme, but they were all observable once we realised what we were supposed to be looking for.

        And finally, if things are bad, and your son does have a big curve, remember that bracing is not as bad as you think it will be when you first hear it mentioned. Lots of people spend a big chunk of their teenage years in the brace doing perfectly normal things and being perfectly normal teenagers. As for the other scary thing -- surgery -- if your boy doesn't look obviously "crooked" he's very unlikely to be anywhere in that neighborhood.

        Good luck with your ortho appointment.

        Patricia
        Scoli Mum from New Zealand
        Daughter Caitlin's surgery scheduled for 2nd May
        Patricia
        Scoli Mum from New Zealand
        Daughter Caitlin's surgery 2nd May 2005
        Posterior fusion T3 - L1

        Comment


        • #5
          Thank you for your replies. My daughter noticed something different with me tonite at dinner.....just been thinking about it alot.

          A trained screener checked him today, the nurse didn't give me any specifics in regards to degree, lumbar, thoracic. Just that there is a curve. And I didn't know any of this to ask her.

          Yes, the appt. on Friday is with Ortho....I want to get the accurate info so we know where to go from here. I haven't told my son yet, not sure I will until Friday morning before we go. I didn't examine him either, guess I'm afraid too....make sense? Think I will wait for the Ortho to do it, as I really don't know what to look for.

          As for medical issues that might contribute, I'm don't what would contribute. I know when he was born he had a minor heart murmer. He had alot of ear infections til he was 3.....went to a chiropractor and hasn't had one since.......however I remember him sayin that his one side was higher than the other..but don't remember which. Other than that, there isn't anything. I thought maybe it was hereditary as well..but haven't found anything on that.

          Thanks for the link...will check that out.
          Cindy

          Comment


          • #6
            Cindy,
            My heart goes out to you having to deal with this and your husband is an OTR truck driver. My husband was too. We decided after 15 years of sleeping in separate beds because of his job, that it was time for him to find something that he could do that was close to home. So, he started driving log trucks for a living. Well, it was just like when he was OTR. I talked to him during the day on the cel phone. He has since found a good job and has been home every night. So, I understand the support thing you have going on.

            Like Carmell and Patricia said, this is rarely an emergency. But, we do understand your wanting to know as soon as possible. Be sure you use a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. There are numerous children's hospital's too, like Shriners Hospital, etc. You may want to look into them for treatment.

            All three of our girls were diagnosed with scoliosis on the same day. All three with different degrees of severity. Our oldest just had surgery on 3/15/05 and is doing absolutely wonderful, she had an 88 degree curve. Our middle daughter has a mild curve and is what is called a wait and watch. Our youngest daughter has a curve that is requiring her to wear a brace. But, just so you know. As scary as this was for us, we just picked up our pieces and went on with life. It doesn't limit what they can or can't do in most cases. All three of our girls play volleyball, basketball and two of them do throwing events in track. The one thing the doctor really stressed to us was to let them do their normal things. They also work around our ranch, when they aren't off doing sports.

            So, as you can see our life does go on.

            As far as accuracy of school screenings, I don't know. My 16 year old has had numerous xrays and all any doctor would ask her is if she had ever been in an accident and hurt her back. So, it was missed by the medical professionals big time. So, by the time she was properly diagnosed it was too late for bracing and surgery was her only option.

            Scoliosis isn't anything to be affraid of or overly worried about. It does need to be treated and watched. What gets most of us worked up is when our children are heading off to surgery and you know the worst case scenario and the best case scenario. We pray for the best case, but are completely aware of the worst case.

            We are here to support you and will put you in our prayers. Keep us posted on your son's appointment.

            Prayers are for your family.

            'til later,
            Nikki

            Comment


            • #7
              Ok, I can't stand it anymore: What is an OTR driver?......



              Cheers - Patricia
              Patricia
              Scoli Mum from New Zealand
              Daughter Caitlin's surgery 2nd May 2005
              Posterior fusion T3 - L1

              Comment


              • #8
                OTR = Over the Road

                He is gone weekly, home most weekends. Basically, I have a part-time husband...lol!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Patricia,
                  Sorry about the lingo bit. It is kind of a truck driver's wife thing. You ought to hear the log truck driver wife lingo. It is even more interesting.

                  The best thing we did was sell our semi-truck. The payment was tremendous and the fuel prices had just started going up when we sold it and my husband went to driving log trucks.

                  Believe it or not, we are still trying to adjust to sleeping in the same bed after three years of him being home at night, all night. The only difference between an OTR driver and a log truck driver is that the log truck driver comes home to sleep for a few hours. Log truck drivers get home about 6pm, eat dinner and go to bed. Only to get up and got back into their truck at 2am.

                  'til later,
                  Nikki

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hi there! Eric's appt. is at 8:20am tomorrow. I talked to him about it this morning and he is a bit worried.....he says not, but then said he looked it up on the computer today at school. He had some questions that I could not answer and I told him we would worry about them when we find out more with the doctor. I will keep you updated.



                    I know what you mean about sleeping in the same bed....weekends are nice...but sometimes I just miss having the bed to myself...lol!

                    Thanks!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Cindy,
                      Let us know what goes on with your sons appointment tomorrow. Make sure he is encouraged to ask his questions. The doctor should be able to answer any questions he has.

                      Tell your son we are praying for all of you. And, any treatment that is recommended is for his own good. It will make a difference as he gets older if he does what the doctor asks him to do now.

                      'til later,
                      Nikki

                      PS-I love having my queen bed to myself when I get it. I have decided it isn't big enough for both of us. lol!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi Everyone....we are home and they did xrays and all sorts of body checks...and his spine is perfectly straight, nothing wrong with it at all. I really do thank you for taking the time to reply and for the prayers as well.

                        For those of you that deal with this, I have said prayers for you all as well. Thanks again!
                        Cindy

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Cindy,
                          I am so glad to hear your report on your son. It is such a relief to hear he is okay. Now, you feel that you can go on without having to wait until your orginial appointment date.

                          I am glad you went with your mother instinct and got to the bottom of it right away.

                          'til later,
                          Nikki

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by CynLyn38
                            Hi Everyone....we are home and they did xrays and all sorts of body checks...and his spine is perfectly straight, nothing wrong with it at all.

                            Cool. Can't get better news than that. And, as a side benefit, you now know a whole lot of random facts about scoliosis.

                            Cheers.
                            Patricia
                            Scoli Mum from New Zealand
                            Daughter Caitlin's surgery 2nd May 2005
                            Posterior fusion T3 - L1

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Otc

                              Thank you Patricia! I was having fun/going crazy imagining all these wild things OTC could stand for!!!! Pat

                              Originally posted by phaden
                              Ok, I can't stand it anymore: What is an OTR driver?......



                              Cheers - Patricia

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