Alexandra (Aly) was born in May 2010 by c-section after a normal pregnancy. She was big, healthy and beautiful!
Around 10 months old, while bathing her, her dad and I noticed that she sat a bit crooked. We brought it up to her pediatrician, but he told us not to panic. Because she was such a big, chubby girl, he believed that she was just learning to hold herself up.
At one year, it hadn’t changed, she was now walking, and we noticed a curve of her ribs on one side while bathing her. At her 12m check up, the pediatrician looked a little deeper, and set us for a spinal x-ray. He got back to us within 24 hours and said that the local orthopedic surgeon had set us up an appointment at Shriner’s in Philadelphia. The thoracic region of her spine measured an approximately 60 degree curve.
When meeting with the doctor at Shriner’s, it was decided that Aly would undergo a series of casts to gently correct her spinal curve.
The first cast was the hardest, for sure! New territory for parents, and baby. Aly had just recently learned to walk- and now having the cast down around her hips, it had to be relearned. Adjustments were made for maximum comfort at all times. Bathing and diapering presented challenges, but we had wonderful support from other ISOP parents who had great tips!
Two and a half years, several casts, and 3 custom braces later, Aly’s curve seems to be holding at 17 degrees (thoracic) and 14 degrees (lower). What used to be day to day challenges with bathing and motor skills are now every day parts of life! We are so grateful to her doctors, nurses, and our ISOP “family”.
