disappointed- hit a plateau

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

We just got back from Rochester- very tired after a 7 hour drive. We were so

hoping would be fitted for a brace this visit, but he didn't improve, in

fact his rvad actually went up. He has been stuck at 16 degrees for the last

three casts. We are now in cast 8. It feels like there is no end in sight.

Now as I write that I realize to some I must sound so greedy. I have tried and

tried not to set my expectations too high and still almost every time we don't

get anywhere. We started casting May 2007 with a 31 degree curve. We switched

from Erie to Rochester. I still haven't paid for the two previous casts. We

checked 's records and he has had significant growth during each cast. Our

doc can't explain it. He says he is still optimistic, we just need to be

patient. We are going to try to keep this cast on for 4 months (partly because

it feels like a waste to drive all the way there, put under, etc.) Our

doc feels we should still

cast. He said we are too mild to have surgery, he thinks the cast will hold

better than a brace...

Has anyone else hit a plateau? What did you do? What would cause the rvad to

go up? Can a cast actually loosen up over time? Is a longer time in cast a

bad idea?

I am sorry to sound so negative. I will give myself 24 hours to have a pity

party. I am tired of hard hugs and no improvement. We are so pleased that we

have had the 15 degrees improvement over time, but the last time we saw

improvement was March.

Down for now, but better tomorrow- I promise.

Any and all insights are appreciated.

Oh yeah, has no other conditions- he is idiopathic.

Thanks for listening- I am so tired I hope this makes sense!

Thanks,

Jill