Yesterday we had our checkups with Dr. Li down at University of Michigan Medical Center. We had not been there in a year! I can’t even remember a time when we had not been to appointments for Scoliosis for a year (pre-diagnosis, probably). I was nervous, but not nearly as nervous as I was in those early years. The great news is that BOTH kids are doing great! My daughter is feeling wonderful, 2 years post surgery. She plays 3 sports (Volleyball, Basketball, Track), plays the Clarinet, performs in local theater, and, best of all, lives a relatively pain-free life. We got a script to get her massage therapy on a more regular basis – after her surgery, her left shoulder is very tight almost all of the time, but the massage therapy I’ve been getting her approximately once per month seems to be keeping any resulting tension headaches at bay.
My son, thankfully, weathered a 2.5 inch growth over the past year and is at the same curvature as he’s been holding at for 2 years – approximately 10 upper and 13 lower. We are so happy! He has EXTREMELY tight hamstrings, which the Doctor says we should really work on, since most of the adolescent patients she sees that complain of back pain have tight hamstrings (and find relief when they start a stretching regimen). So, if all we have to add to the schedule is family yoga time, we are truly blessed. The next couple of years will be major growth years for him, but Dr. Li said to keep an eye on him and that we can wait a year to bring him back, unless we notice any changes (hips looking uneven, a greater bump when doing the bending over test).
We celebrated with a trip afterwards to IHOP and taking them back to school (boo, poor babies) 🙂 We are so grateful to Dr. Li and the staff at the University of Michigan Medical center. We never wanted surgery – we went to great lengths to avoid it, but it was so nice to have them on our side when we had to do it anyway.
We wish you a wonderful Holiday season and hope that you can find peace, no matter where you are along the path of your Scoliosis Journey. I look forward to starting the new year with some fresh new Scoliosis information for you.
