A Tribute to Min Mehta, MD, FRCS

My name is Olivia (Liv) Montoya and I’m not here on Earth anymore, but Min Mehta changed my life and my mother’s destiny, along with curing children like me around the world.

At 5 months old, I was diagnosed with severe, progressive infantile scoliosis, which can be fatal in babies and young children. The doctors in the U.S. offered spinal fusion surgery only for my rapidly progressing curves. My main curve was in my heart & lung area and my mom knew that I was running out of time, fast.

This is what drove her to do desperate international research to try and find someone to help me, without dangerous and ineffective surgery. After an exhaustive search, she found our beloved friend and hero, Dr. Min Mehta, and her miraculous, brilliant work of curing babies with scoliosis, gently with no surgery.

The medical establishment doubted Min, she got into her medical residency in the U.K. partly because they mistook her name for a man’s. Nevertheless, she persevered and succeeded with true grit, grace and courage.

We raised money and brought Min to the U.S., where she trained over 20 pediatric orthopedic surgeons on how to apply her gentle, corrective treatment. I was honored to be her first patient in the U.S.

Due to the effectiveness of Min’s treatment, we knew she needed to train more surgeons here in America and around the world. We could see scoli children tragically falling through the cracks of the medical establishment. So, Min came back to America 10 times, despite her own severe, scoliotic pain. She was a force of nature and the essence of driven, selfless love.

Over the course of 10 years, the surgeons she trained passed on Min’s Growth Guidance Casting to the point where it’s now considered the Standard of Care in the U.S., and offered in parts of Mexico, Australia, South America, Poland, Finland, France, England, Egypt, India and more.

This is a miracle born from Min’s brilliance and her love velocity that will carry on forever.

Min started an important, life changing movement that will increase throughout the world for children with scoliosis. To date, Min’s method has straightened over 5,000 infants and young children worldwide, and this number continues to grow.

She was my mother’s mentor and my hero. My mom will continue to spread Dr. Mehta’s cure far and wide until it’s the Standard of Care throughout the world and no more children suffer.

Min is family to us and to all of the children she has saved; we miss her and my mom will honor her life by carrying her message onward, forever.