spinecor

[emarismom]

Right now passports are NOT needed to cross the border into Canada if you are driving in. They ARE needed if you are if you are flying into Canada though. So if you you were to fly to Montreal, you would all need them. If you were to fly to Vermont, and then drive into Canada, you would not need them yet.

They will be needed by next year. You maybe able to save the money for now, but remember the process of getting the passports can take several months. Last year it took me three months to get passports for my kids.

[desheah]

update on lucas

hi everyone,

we got back from montreal late last night. dragging this morning . . .

lucas is the same (which is definitely a good thing). in nov he was 24/18. now he is 21/19. he looks good overall. just a little adjustment to the straps. we need to loosen the pelvic straps since they are chafing a bit. dr. coillard recommended that we do it. next appt. in sept.

need to get back to work.

my best,
deshea

[2kids]

Right now passports are NOT needed to cross the border into Canada if you are driving in. They ARE needed if you are if you are flying into Canada though. So if you you were to fly to Montreal, you would all need them. If you were to fly to Vermont, and then drive into Canada, you would not need them yet.

They will be needed by next year. You maybe able to save the money for now, but remember the process of getting the passports can take several months. Last year it took me three months to get passports for my kids.

Here are the details on travel by air, land, and sea. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/va.../ready_set_go/

Get a passport for everyone in your family now! You never know when a great travel opportunity will present itself.

[jillw]

Deshea, yay! I'm glad you got good news. I didn't understand...the pelvic straps are chafing now but you need to wait until September to loosen it? In any case I'm happy to hear things went well.

[RugbyLaura]

Excellent news Deshea!

I'm reading your post as Dr Coillard recommended that you loosen the straps (now) to stop the chaffing and (seperate point) next appointment in September.

I don't think you'd want to wait until Sept !!

Laura

[desheah]

laura,
thanks for making the clarification. yes, that is exactly what i meant and i loosened the pelvic straps this afternoon. everything is a-ok.

jill & laura,
thanks for the congrats! it's nice when things go smoothly.

as a little aside, dr. rivard recommended that we keep lucas' brace on during gymnastics. he would prefer giving him a break when he wasn't active. i'm not sure if lucas was so keen on this, but we'll give it a try! that was the only change/suggestion.

deshea

[RugbyLaura]

I think keeping the brace on during gymnastics is a great idea! Hopefully Lucas is young enough to comply! Immy is reluctant to wear it for gym / dance / PE / anything!

Start as you mean to go on... (& good luck!)

Laura x

[jillw]

duh, Jill! If I'd paid attention to Deshea's periods I would have realized what she meant the first time!

I had also been told to have the out of brace time be during less active times - I guess the theory behind the brace is that it is through movement (while wearing the brace) that makes the brace effective. So far, other than swimming or during a recital where the brace would show through the costume, Katie has been wearing the brace for gym/dance/soccer/etc. (although on occasion during more vigorous movements, a snap comes unpopped). Deshea, good luck getting Lucas to try wearing the brace during gymnastics!

[shaes mom]

Deshea,

That's fabulous news! You must be so happy. It must be so nervewracking every time you go there. Now get some rest until September (yeah, right, I know).

[jillw]

Shaes mom,

I meant to post that I think Christine's pointers from a couple days ago were good ones (get extra bodysuits/going full time from the start, etc). Like Christine posted, my daughter was also uncomfortable on the way home. She was very disturbed when first wearing the brace and putting her in the car for a 4 hour car ride was probably not the best thing. So I'll throw in my advice, bring distractions!!!! We brought DVDs that she had never seen for the portable DVD and we stopped at a Friendly's and got her a big sundae (once we crossed the border back into the states and got into Plattsburgh)...the combination of movie/ice cream did calm her down and distract her for which I was eternally grateful.

Another word of advice, if you get spinecor (or any brace for that matter) try to hide your anxieties. The night we got home and tried to put her brace on after the bath was stressful because I was afraid I was doing it wrong. Then my husband put a strap on a way that was wrong and I had to undo it and both husband and I were tense and tentative and my daughter picked up on it and freaked out that the brace didn't feel right. It took us hours to calm her down (and more distractions...i.e. letting her film things around the house with our camcorder ) Anyway, maybe you will have more confidence than we did (and it does get easier), but if you don't, fake it!

[shaes mom]

Thanks for the advice Jill,

Good advice is always welcome. I will be sure to buy many bodysuits (do you think 4 or 5 would be okay?). I plan on bringing my camcorder to video how they put it on just in case we have any questions about it at a later time. I have to start making a list of things I need to take care of. This is going to be a whole new learning experience. I will bring a dvd player as well.

I have her previous (April 9th) x-rays on a CD. I am planning to bring those. Do you have any other advice as to what to bring, what I should have her wear?

Thanks so much!

[shaes mom]

I just spoke with Dr. Rivard and answered one of my questions. She will need to wear a bodysuit (one is provided with the brace). Each addt'l is $60. So maybe if I buy 3 ($180) that would be sufficient (at least for my checking account). By the way, if anyone else needs to know ... the brace is $3,100, the x-rays are $350 and the appt. is $100. To go to NY it would have been $3,800 for the brace, $400 for the exam, $375 for 2 x-rays before bracing and $175 for an additional x-ray with the brace. That's $4,725 v. $3,550 ($1,175 difference) WOW! That will cover the hotel, food, gas and the bodysuits!

[HaleyMom]

Hello Shae's mom
You may want to hold off on buying too many body suits until you know if your daughter likes them.

My daughter thought they were too much trouble. She prefers a long cami and her own underwear. She takes the whole brace off everytime she needs to use the bathroom. It takes her less than a minute to take it off and snap it all back on.

The one body suit we did get, is too small after just 9 months - she's grown 1.5 inches.

[emarismom]

Shae's mom,

I'm going to second the point of not buying the bodysuits unless you are sure that your daughter will wear them!! My daughter did not last one day in hers. We literally went to Target on the first day she got her brace and bought some very tight tees and some of the boxer type undies for girls. She wore these for awhile and then I found some form fitting longer tees that actually come down under the brace. She has worn those for 8-9 months now.

A few days ago I bought some tees at J C Penny in the juniors department that Emily loves!! She says they are awesome because they are super soft and thin. They are very long, form fitting, and have a crew neck type.

[christine2]

Sheas Mom

The others may be right about the bodysuits. My daughter is still too young to take off and put on her brace so she needs the bodysuit with croutch snaps so she can deal with it at school. Her little fingers are not strong enough to do the snaps and I don't want her to go to the nurse everytime she needs to go to the bathroom or the LOO as some of the others say (I LOVE IT) Your daughter is old enough that she may be able to do it herself. You may find some good alternatives to bodysuits. We have 4 bodysuits at all times this way I can keep them washed and ready.

As soon as we got back from her 1st appt. We had some playdates with some of my daughter's closest friends and we told them about the brace. I also discussed it with their parents so they could have conversations with their kids about how my daughter may need some extra attention and understanding at first. This seemed to help, I found her talking to them about it rather than trying to hide it. That made her more comfortable.

We also took pics to help us remember, on the plastic base i wrote with a laundry marker #'s and arrows, we had a session with the school nurse and daycare on how to resnap if need be. That has come in handy.