worried mum from Australia

[mumof5]

Everything seems to be going really well. It's so good to have it all over and done with and to able to just recover.
It looks like Amber is going back to school next Tuesday, She talked me into having Monday off because it's her birthday and she said "I always have to go on my birthday". What a cheap present hey!
Cheryl.

[Peggy]

Hi Cheryl,
Just wanted to let you know that my daughter had some tingling every once in awhile too in her feet. She hasn't complained of that since about week 8 post-op. She is thin also. Glad to hear Amber is doing so well. Going back to school! Wow! My daughter's ended in June and won't start up again till the end of August. Even then I wonder about her mentally, going back with the brace and all. That will be a really long break. Her last day of school was April 8, the last day before Spring break. Good Luck to Amber, sounds like you guys are doing great!

[Peggy]

Good Luck Connie! Everything will go fine and soon you will be on the road to recovery!

[mumof5]

Amber is going back to school tomorrow. It would have been today but she wanted her birthday off school and I figured she deserved it. They are on holidays in a week so I am hoping she can use this week to catch up with all her friends. We will try for just part of the day and see how she goes. Hopefully after two weeks of holidays she will be ready to go back full time. (or be really close to it).
Fingers crossed.
Cheryl.

[mumof5]

School went well for Amber this morning. She stayed for the first 2 classes, 80 minutes. Her teachers are 'mothering' her but she said it's not to bad. Her hips were aching and she said she couldn't have lasted any longer. I'm so proud of her getting back there, even if I was worried while she was gone. Just being a parent I guess. She'll have tomorrow off as I have to go to court and she is coming with me, but she will be at school on Thursday. She said she feels like she will sleep well tonight. We did a bit of walking to try and help 'free up' her hips this afternoon (shopping).
I hope everyone else is doing well.
Best wishes.
Cheryl.

[mumof5]

Hi everyone,
Amber's hips are 'ok' now after going to school on Tuesday. She spent all up about 3 hours sitting in the court yesterday and travelling to and from there. She didn't really rest very much when we got home. I think she was restless and wanted to be moving around. This morning she has woken up looking a bit 'peaky', tired and in pain. She was planning on going to school this morning but is not up to it. She says her back is achy and exhausted. Any ideas? Has she been over doing the sitting? What else could it be? She is a bit pale today as well.
Cheryl.

P.S. For any one curious court for us has been over access regarding my youngest child. After 3 years her father has just realised he is a dad and wants to be involved. Things went well for us and hopefully will can all be happy and settled now. Yes he will be involved with her.

[Alison]

I wouldn't quite phrase it as over doing the sitting, instead my best guess that Amber's muscles/back are sore as they are getting used to sitting for that long again in basically one position (the muscles are probably either "tight" or feeling a little bit floppy). It is also probably also the concentration in Ambers mind and her back; what I mean by this is probably having to sit "straight" and also have to listen to the teacher at the same time does take quite a lot of concentration. Also her body would be trying to get used to "going" to school again.

I know that Amber doesn't want to use a cushion, and I can understand why. I remember personally fighting my Mum against it for the first six months back at school, because I thought it would be a pain and that people would look at it and think I was strange. I can't remember how mum eventually won out, or I relented, but I think it was because I was sick of spending much of the class standing (what I ended up with was a support for the back of the chair because the school chairs were shaped funny, and using the teachers chair got too difficult cause the chair was too high for the desk, I did get many stares at the start as it looked kind of odd, but after a while people just forgot it was there (when I got fed up with using it on occasions, I would practice bouncing erasers off it as it was quite "bouncy)

My suggestions, other than using a cushion include:
:Even though the school lessons are forty minutes long, if perhaps Amber got up in the middle of the lesson (during the lesson) and either walked around the back of the classroom a bit, or go outside and go for a bit of a walk/stretch. To give the muscles in the back and hips a bit of a break
:Perhaps upping Ambers pain medication a bit whilst her body gets used to sitting for a long time again. Even though personally I dislike pain killers cause they have a habit of making you feel a bit dopey and drowsy I personally found that they helped a bit in the first few weeks of going back to school
:Another idea is to Amber to "practice" sitting at home for a bit longer in a comfortablish chair to get her brain used to sitting again for longer periods of time

Alison

[mumof5]

She has been 'practising' sitting at home. She says she did get up and wnder around during the class. She actually said that she had to get to get a few things during class and she was sure that the teacher had spread the stuff around the room so that she would have to walk.
Today was the first day in about 4 weeks that she had taken anything for pain. She spent most of the day laying down. When she got up to come and have tea she said she felt much 'straighter and taller' and the muscles weren't 'tired'. I guess it's just going to take time to re train herself into being a student.
I have repeatedly asked her if she wants a cushion and she says it wouldn't help as it is the shape of the chairs. Maybe time and my constant 'nagging' will change her mind.
I have to keep reminding myself she's only 7 weeks post-op.
Thanks for the advice.
Cheryl.

[Alison]

This is going to sound like a really odd question, what is the basic shape of the chairs/what do the chairs look like. Why I ask, is through the combination of my sisters, and my best mate's occupational therapy brain and my dad's brain who does stuff with ergonomics they might be able to come up with suggestions for you of how to make the chair more "comfortable"/easier to sit at for a longer time for Amber. Just curious ask Amber if it is the back of the chair that is the shape problem.

I think the hardest thing always is after a scoliosis surgery is that you look so "normal" feel relatively normal but the body isn't quite there yet

Alison

[mumof5]

I have seen the chairs. They are designed so that the kids 'can't swing on them'. The backs are slightly moulded but very upright. Personally I don't see how anyone could be comfortable sitting on them without sliding down on it. She says she is sitting in the same position whether she uses the backrest or not. I've tried to explain to her that sitting like that uses more muscle control than if she was leaning against the chair. I know she can feel the rods in her back when she leans on things, even sitting in the car and laying in bed. I think she feels that even with a cushion she will still be uncomfortable. I doubt it would be as bad though. Also there is the problem of not wanting to be noticed. But that is going to happen anyway after being away for so long.
Well today is the last day of school term and she will have 2 weeks holiday, hopefully I can change her mind. I might take her shopping and see if we can find a suitable cushion that she really likes, then we can work over the holidays finding the best and least noticable way of carrying it.
Thanks for all the advice and ideas.
Cheryl.

[Alison]

Maybe a compromise with Amber could be that if you find a cushion that she likes/is suitable that she keeps it in her locker and uses it when she gets really sore or in the afternoon classes when your muscles are more tired (she may keep it in her locker all the time for fear of embarassement I do realise this)

What I have found with some of the really straight back chairs (like the type you find in doctors surgeries), we have them for Band that even though I can "Sit" in them for a long time, it is more comfortable to have a comfy pillow behind me to give my back a rest.

Alison

[mumof5]

Amber has been to school this morning. She lasted about the same length of time as Tuesday. She has just read what you wrote and said 'Yeh!, but I don't want to get dependent on it.' My arguments are just not working. But I'm not going to give up.
Cheryl.

[Alison]

Here's another line of reasoning for you that might work (what I found for me)

You find for about the first year and a bit that a cushion is helpful in comfort and pain staying low whilst sitting in school chairs. As your muscles improve you find that your mind "tells" you that it doesn't need this anymore and you find yourself wanting to use it less and less. I used my support on the chair all the way through year nine and half way through year 10. I eventually stopped using it and bounced erasers off it instead because I found that I could once again sit reasonably OK without it and still be comfortable. And when I moved schools in year 11 I didn't use a support at all. But you do find that when you are "comfortable" in the chair at school you can concentrate on school and school work better and you seem to do better in tests because your mind isn't focused on the wriggliness. But for exams/tests and TEE i use an ergomomic chair and writing board because I have found that for the 3 hours I can't sit comfortably for that long without wriggling and losing concentration

Alison

[mumof5]

The ergonomic chair you are talking about, is that a 'chair' chair or one of those ones that has a knee rest/pad and a seat with no back? My Nanna had one like that years ago but I haven't seen one since. I always thought it was the most comfortable thing I had ever sat on ( except when my knee was sore). They force you to sit very straight, if you lean backwards you 'strain' your atomach and forwards your legs of you topple off. My Nanna's one was a bit heavy though.
Cheryl.

[Alison]

For school tests/exams etc I use a chair chair, the one that has the backrest and the adjustments for the seat depth and the height. We managed to snag it at a businesses closing down sale which I thought was pretty good. I find it really comfortable, but everyone else tells me that it is uncomfortable because unlike most people who have the seat adjusted really flat and the back really far away I have the seat sloped a lot (cause that's comfortable for me). It is also the computer chair in our house. We usually call it an office chair, but when I wrote the reply I had ergonomic chair on the brain as that was the term we had to use to fill out my curriculum council application to be allowed to use it for TEE.

My GP doctor had similar surgery for her back a long time ago and she uses the seat with no back and the kneerest bit. I have sat on it a couple of times. I found it strange sensation but comfortable. After I had surgery we looked at different chairs for schoolwork and even though the odd looking chair was more comfortable because the fact that it was heavy and looked strange for taking in for school we went for the chair chair. As it looked a bit more discreet and it also fit under my desk at home without two many bothers.

Also at home I sometimes sit on a fitness ball (a big one), my physio made me start to sit on one a couple of years ago as another way of working up my back muscles and my general balance overall. That isn't as comfortable and I spend much of my time falling off cause I don't pay attention :-)

Alison