update on Eden

[Guest guest]

Eden’s curve was 49 degrees when she

started casting in June 2010. She was 2yrs, 5 months. Her curve was

reduced to 32 degrees after cast #4 in Feb 2011. She had two more casts,

then a brace last summer. Three more casts followed between Sept '11 and

June '12, and she’s still at 31 degrees. That makes 9 casts total in two

years. She is in another brace for the

summer. Since she has plateau’d, we’ve been advised to have another

xray in September to see if the brace is holding her curve. If so, she'll

continue in this brace for a year with xrays every 3 months or so to make sure

it's holding the curve. Her curve was corrected to 18 deg IN her last cast, and

her brace is correcting it to 15 deg now.

If her curve does not change in the brace over the next year,

it is recommended she can go without her brace at that point. I would

assume we’ll keep monitoring her. There is a chance when she’s

around 10 that her curve may worsen as she going into pre-pubescent growth.

She may need to go back into a brace at that point. There is a small

chance (less than 15%?), that it could worsen so that she’ll need surgery

as a teen.

I was going to push for more casting this fall.

However, I didn’t quite realize she had plateau’d since cast #4.

If the brace is holding her curve, I won’t push for more casting. I

think she’d really like to take swimming lessons year round.

I wish she could have reached 0 degrees, but we’ll take

around 30 and keep on top of it going forward to make sure it doesn’t

increase. Her dr said she can live a normal life with normal activities

and no pain with a 30 deg curve. I’m so thankful she is where she’s

at and not where she was. Focusing on the positive! And tomorrow is

her first dance recital! J

Sherry