When Arabella was 2 we learned that she has congenital scoliosis. This is not the typical scoliosis they check for in the preteen years. She was born with vertebral segmentation (hemivertebrae) and fusion abnormalities. Because she was so young, we were told to just watch and wait. The ideal outcome would be that as she grew, while her spine would still curve, the curvatures in her spine would equal or "cancel" each other out. Her healthy active lifestyle of dance and gymnastics has helped her remain fairly stable for many years which was confirmed by yearly x-rays and visits at Shriners and then Doernbecher. At her appointment in January, her x-rays showed that the curves were increasing, but not equally. Her right shoulder was visibly higher and her right shoulder blade was beginning to wing. Her doctor said it is time to begin thinking surgery. Stating it could be done as early as March, but should be done in this calendar year. The longer we wait, the less correction will be able to happen. We asked that she be able to finish out her activities for the year that she was really excited about: like our homeschool year and dance. We went back for a follow up appointment and a new set of x-rays on May 26th and her curves again increased confirming that it is now time to address her scoliosis.
Arabella will be having surgery to correct the curves via fusion and inserting pins and colbalt rods on June 16th. It will be an all day procedure with both her pediatric orthopaedic doctor Dr. Yang and a pediatric neurologist Dr Sayama. His goal in surgery is not a completely straight spine, but to get the curves back to what they were a few years ago.
She is continuing to stay as active as she can because we have found many articles and reports stating that the more active she is before surgery, the better her recovery will be. We also believe greatly in muscle memory and know that even though she will have to take things easy for a while, her muscle memory will aid in her getting back to the things she loves to do. She has not complained much of back pain. I have only really heard complaints of pain when she is cold or the very rare and occational times she doesn't land a tumbling skill and hits her back. All neurological checks show normal reactions indicating a healthy spinal cord. She is young, healthy, active, determined, and strong.
The greatest help we can ask for is your prayers both for her surgery and also for her recovery. We know God is in control and has big plans for Arabella. We fully believe she will be able to get back to her active lifestyle.
There is a meal train set up to help with meals when we return home from her hospital stay ( https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/qnr6m1 ). If you feel lead to help financially, money can be sent via PayPal @stephannierodin or Venmo @Stephannie-Rodin with Arabella in the memo or through GoFundMe ( https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-arabella-family-with-surgery-recovery ).
