Today my little girlie had a checkup for her scoliosis. Earlier in the week we got an xray; today we took it to the orthopaedist for review and commentary. He said she is doing fine; the curve has decreased a tiny bit since she got the brace. That doesn't change anything; she will still need the brace till she finishes growing. That's probably another 3 or 4 years. But we knew that from the start; a scoliosis brace doesn't straighten the spine, it just keeps the curve from getting worse as the child grows.
I won't lie and pretend I didn't have a tiny bit of hope that he'd tell us that the curve was so greatly improved she could give up the brace. But I didn't expect it. We will see him again in 6 months to be sure the brace is still fitting properly, but she won't get another xray for a year.
The brace has become almost a non-issue for us now. She wears it almost all day, except when she is doing something active - soccer, gymnastics, trampoline, bike riding, going to the gym. She sleeps in it every night. The doctor approved her leaving it off during the day while she was at Girl Scout camp last summer, but she dutifully put it on at bedtime. It wasn't a big deal; in fact, she was able to reassure one camper who was anticipating wearing a brace soon herself. That was a great experience for her and I hope she has that opportunity again!
For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, and wants to, here are a few places to get our scoliosis story:
Happy Birthday! You have scoliosis.
The brace.
Self-pity. Or not.
2 comments:
I just read all your posts on this. I am impressed at how far they have come with braces. (I googled what one looks like.) I wish you guys the best and am glad to hear that your dd has adjusted to this so well.
Thanks. In the big scheme of things it's a small problem. Still, I'm happy with the way she has adjusted to it too!
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